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gudi, iiiuljoat fosj^iial, atilJ |rison; 



THBILLmG RECORDS 



HEROISM, ENDURANCE, AND PATRIOTISM 



DISPLAYED IN THE 



UNION ARMY AND NAVY DURING THE GREAT REBELLION. 



BY 

AUTHOB OP "life op ABRAHAM LINCOLN," "THE YOUNG CAPTAIN, 
*' OUK MARTYRED PRESIDENT," ETC. 



" Be a hero in the strife." — Longfellow. 
^ The Lord hatli done great things for us, whereof we are glad." — Ps. cxxvi. 3. 



6" 



BOSTON: 

C. M. DINSMOOR AND COMPANY. 

18 66. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, 

By Mrs. P. A. Hakaford, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 




'V<jr'^^-(Z^^^ 72^ 






tSi-."^ «^ 



^.-^^. ^. VU^ .^d, ^ yi ^ 

AT ' 6 



STEREOTYPED AN© J»«WfTED BY 

Geo. C. Ranu & Avery, 'Ko. 3, Coruhill. 



To 

IN OUR 

I^esoued Land; 

To ALL WHO APPRECLiTE THE 

Noble Self- Sacrifice, Patriotic Sentiments, Heroic Efforts, 

Patient Endurance, and Sublime Achievements, 

of our 

UNION SOLDIERS, 

WHICH HAVE CPa)WNED THEM WITH 

IMMORTAL HONOR; 

IND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHOSE DEAR ONES 
DIED FOR FREEDOM; 

THIS 

Record of Thrilling Scenes 

IN 

Field, Gunboat, Hospit^vl, and Prison, 

is now 

IJT8GIiIS:H!Q. 



PREFACE. 



In tlie days of chivalry, when troubadours sang in 
ladies' bowers, the heroic deeds of brave and gallant 
knights were often the theme of the minstrel's ballad; 
and earlier yet, in the classic eras, the exploits of 
mighty warriors were told in song and story. Even 
the sacred writings show that this was customary in 
the childhood of the world ; and the triumphal song of 
Deborah, the majestic utterances of the prophets, and 
the unsurpassed poetry of the monarch-bard, are evi- 
dences that bravery, heroism, fortitude, and the 
mighty arm of God displayed in the hour of military 
triumph, were deemed the legitimate and worthy 
themes of the poet and historian. 

The same idea prevails in our own day, while we 
have almost infinitely greater facilities for making 
world-wide the name and fame of our gallant heroes. 
The printing-press, like a thousand-tongued trouba- 
dour, sings the praise not only of the men who 
fought at Thermopylae and "Waterloo, at Lexington 
and Bunker Hill, but sings also, and with clarion 
notes, of the champions of liberty, no less brave and 
patriotic, who battled for the right upon the sangui- 
nary fields of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, Antietam, Gettys- 
burg, Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, and many another 
field of blood and glory, as well as on the decks of 
our monitors and gunboats, which have thundered at 
doors which opened wide only at their summons. 



6 



PREFACE. 



Principles, and not mere preferences, were at stake ; 
and our heroes fought as if they believed this. 

It is to keep in memory some of the heroic deeds of 
daring, the Christian acts of self-denial, the unshrink- 
ing fortitude, the patient endurance, the pure patriot- 
ism, of "our brave boys " who followed the "dear old 
flag," that this volume is prepared. 

It aims to give a graphic picture of Spartan virtues 
and chivalrous exploits as displayed in the army and 
navy of the Union during the dark and terrible years 
of the great Rebellion. 

The material has been gathered from various 
sources, and the anecdotes are believed to be mainly 
authentic. Some of them are altogether new. As 
such, they are presented to a public that enjoys truth- 
ful pictures of thrilling events and incidents, with the 
hope that each one as he reads will be led to lift up 
his heart in devout recognition of that Hand which 
has guided the nation through seas of unexampled 
horror and suffering to the harbor of a peace, that, we 
trust, will be as permanent as it is acceptable. 

Other writers have collected anecdotes, and pre- 
pared valuable works for reading and reference : this 
is designed for a niche yet unoccupied, as it is thought, 
and is sent forth with the humble yet sincere hope, 
that it may do its part in fostering a true sense of the 
real dignity of humanity, the value of free institutions, 
and the immeasurable worth of Christian principles, so 
that God shall be honored, and his laws revered, till 
his kingdom shall come, his will shall be done, and 
a ransomed world sing evermore, Te Dewm lauda- 
mus ! 

p. A. H. 
Reading, Mass. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Paob. 

Records of the Great Uprising ..,.,,,, 9 



CHAPTER n. 
Courage, Bravery, and Patriotism on the Field ... 48 

CHAPTER HI. 
Gallant Exploits of our Navy 86 

CHAPTER IV. 

Battle-Scenes in Connection with the Potomac Army . , 159 

CHAPTER V. 

Battle-Scenes in the West and South- West ..... 211 

CHAPTER VI. 
Hospital-Scenes 28i 



CHAPTER Vn. 

Prison-Horrors 301 

7 



8 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER Vm. 

Paok. 
Sketches of Christian Life in the Army and Navy ... 326 

CHAPTER IX. 

Last Hours of Some of Freedom's Champions .... 336 

CHAPTER X. 
The Martyr of Martyrs .......... 369 



gkUf ^mU^i §i0^j)ital, anil §xmn. 



CHAPTER I. 

RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING, 

" Toll, Roland, toll 
This side the sea 1 
No longer they, but we, 
Have now such need of thee I 
Toll, Roland, tolll 
And let thy iron throat 
Ring out its warning note 
Till Freedom's perils be outbraved, 
And Freedonx's flag, wherever waved, 
Shall overshadow none enslaved. 
Toll ! till from either ocean's strand 
Brave men shall clasp each other's hand, 
And shout, ' God save our native land 1' 
And love the land which God hath saved. 
Toll, Roland, toUI" 

Theodore Tilton. 

(^Jto^HE American nation stands foremost among the 
/I J J nations of the earth. Such, at least, is the opinion 
of the American people ; and if the Icelander, in 
his rugged land and inhospitable clime, is allowed to retain 
the opinion which he everywhere fearlessly expresses, — that 
there is no land so desirable as his geyser-renowned island, 
and that the sun shines upon no spot so beautiful as Ice- 
land, — surely the people of our broad, fair country may 
boast of its place among the lands, and of our rank among 



10 FIELD, GUIJBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the nations, of the earth. In arts and sciences, in all that ex- 
alts humanity, the American nation could defy competition, 
or at least successful rivalship, with any other people, 
before the great Rebellion. Only one blot was on its escut- 
cheon before the terrible war which has just closed ; and that 
conflict, righteous but awful as it was, has not only shown 
the martyr-like heroism, the Spartan endurance, and the 
more than Roman patriotism, of the people of these United 
States of America, but it has removed the foul stain ; and 
our star-spangled banner, torn and tattered in the death- 
struggle between Liberty and Slavery, yet waves in its more 
than pristine beauty, and with its newly won glory, above 
a country that is now truly 

" The land of the free and the home of the brave." 

Let us recall the past. Looking across the war-scarred 
years since 1860, what do we behold? A land prospered 
and prospering. The original thirteen States increased, till, 
silver stars added one after another to our beautiful flag, at 
last it showed no less than thirty-four. But there are mut- 
terings of treason along the horizon. A dark cloud is 
rising, and many loyal hearts are fearful that the night will 
be bereft of stars. One * who has just passed to the eternal 
day, asked, in that hour of terrible suspense, — 

" Are ye all there, are ye all there, 
Stars of my country's sky 1 
Are ye all there, are ye all there, 
In your shining homes on high 1 

* Mrs. L. H. Sigourney. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 11 

* Count us, count us ! ' was their answer, 
As they dazzled on my view. 
In glorious perihelion, 
Amid their field of blue. 

I cannot count ye rightly ; 

There's a cloud -with sable rim : 
I cannot make your number out ; 

For my eyes with tears are dim. 
O bright and blessed angel 

On white wing floating by ! 
Help me to count, and not to miss. 

One star in my country's sky." 

But, alas ! one after another the stars were shut out by 
the murky cloud of secession, till there remained but twenty- 
three. Eleven States — North and South Carolina, Ala- 
bama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, 
Florida, Georgia, and Virginia — no longer gleamed as 
stars in our country's firmament. We may not pause to 
narrate the history of their unwise secession : if we did, it 
would be to go back to the time of John C. Calhoun, and 
wish, vainly, that flint-faced Jackson had occupied the place 
of the timid Buchanan when Jeff. Davis imitated Calhoun, 
and shook his treasonable fist in the very face of the United- 
States Government, but was unmolested. We pass on over 
the months that intervened after the election of Abraham 
Lincoln — a man of the people, and emphatically a man for 
the times, though comparatively few understood it then — 
till the time of his inauguration. That was a brilliant and 
imposing ceremony. More than two thousand soldiers were 
on parade that day. The fine appearance of cavalry, artil^ 



12 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PEISON. 

lery, and infantry, in their splendid uniforms, awakened 
universal admiration. Yet they were but holiday soldiers, 
and little dreamed that they were to be constituted real 
knights of Fatherland, and receive a baptism of blood and 
glory. 

Southern disunionists preached secession, till it was evi- 
dent they meant to secede ; but many at the North talked of 
" compromise," and hoped the matter would be settled with- 
out bloodshed. The country was unprepared for a sangui- 
nary conflict. It had not been her motto, " In time of peace 
prepare for war ; " for she had not dreamed that the sons of 
Revolutionary sires could re-enact the sad tragedy of Para- 
dise, and the cruel Cain of the South lay violent hands on 
his brother at the North, whose " free soil, free speech, and 
free men," were more acceptable in the sight of God than 
desolated homes, parted families, and suffering bondmen. 
Jefferson Davis and John B. Floyd had so directed in the 
"War Department for eight years, that the South had more 
than its share of Government aid in a preparation for an 
aggressive assault, while the North was left nearly defence- 
less. Floyd, the infamous thief, sent arms and ammunition 
to Southern arsenals, depleting the North ; and our little 
navy was scattered, its best portion being ordered to far- 
away seas. The Confederate States, as the seceding por- 
tions of our country called themselves, elected Jefferson 
Davis to the Presidency in February, 1861. He was in- 
augurated on the 16th of that month, and Alexander II. 
Stephens also inaugurated as Vice-President. The nominal 
head of the nation, ^ niere party tool, looked on all this 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 13 

treasonable conduct with unpardonable pusillanimity, and 
perhaps with dismay, and a cowardly dread of the South. 
Probably he found in those hours, that 

" Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ; " 

and he longed for the time when the giant of the West 
would take the burden from his shoulders. So, instead of 
crushing the viper in the egg, he let treason grow to a 
hydra-headed monster, fit to frighten vast armies, such as 
at least only vast armies could utterly overcome. 

Lincoln came to the chair of State a prepared man for 
the hour of a nation's destiny ; but he had Quaker blood 
in his veins, and he preferred peace to war. Yet justice 
and liberty should triumph, he thought, at any cost. 

The South desired to secure the forts along their shores ; 
but this President Lincoln could not allow. His oath of 
office must be religiously kept. He had the spirit of a mar- 
tyr, but not a particle of traitor blood in him. He could 
bear to be a stoned Stephen, but not a despised Arnold ; and 
so he forbade the surrender of the forts into Southern 
hands : and, when supplies were needed, he was ready to fur- 
nish them, that the glorious old stars and stripes might still 
float over those defences of Southern harbors. 

Meanwhile the traitors were busied in building forts, and 
preparing to take forcible possession of those over which 
waved the starry flag. 

The loyal United-States soldiers who occupied the forts 
in Charleston Harbor were in need of food and ammunition. 
Government attempted to supply them; but the steamer 



14 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

*' Star of the West," which was sent to relieve the starving 
garrison, was fired upon, and unable to enter the harbor and 
draw near the forts. At last the parricidal hands of South- 
ern traitors w^ere raised against their country ; and " at 
twenty minutes past three, a.m., of the 12th of April, 1861, 
Major Anderson was duly notified that fire would be opened 
on Fort Sumter in one hour. Punctual to the appointed 
moment, the roar of a mortar from Sullivan's Island, 
quickly followed by the rustling shriek of a shell, gave notice 
to the world that the era of compromise and diplomacy was 
ended ; that the slaveholder's confederacy had appealed from 
sterile negotiations to the last argument of aristocracies as 
well as kings. Another gun from that island quickly re- 
peated the warning, making a response from battery after 
battery, until Sumter appeared the focus of a circle of 
volcanic fire. Soon the thunder of fifty heavy breaching 
cannon in one grand volley, followed by the crashing and 
crumbling of brick, stone, and mortar around and above 
them, apprised the little garrison that their stay in those 
quarters must necessarily be short." * 

The casemates of Fort Sumter were shell-proof, so that 
the loyal defenders w^ere tolerably safe ; and, in fact, not one 
was killed on either side. " So bloodless was the initiation 
of the bloodiest struggle that America ever witnessed. 
But, though almost without casualty, the contest was not, 
on the side of the Union, a mere mockery of war : it even 
served to develop traits of heroism." Says one of those 
who participated in the perils of the defence, — 

* Greeley's History of the American Conflict. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 15 

" The workmen (Irish laborers, hired in New York for 
other than military service) were, at first, rather reluctant 
to assist the soldiers in handling the guns ; but they grad- 
ually took hold, and rendered valuable assistance. Few 
shots were fired before every one of them was desperately 
engaged in the conflict. We had to abandon one gun on 
account of the heavy fire made upon it. Hearing the fire 
renewed, I went to the spot. I there found a party of 
workmen engaged in serving it. I saw one of them stoop- 
ing over, with his hands on his knees, convulsed with joy, 
while the tears rolled down his powder-begrimed cheeks. 

"'What are you doing here with that gun?' I asked. 
' Hit it right in the centre,' was the reply ; the man mean- 
ino- that his shot had taken eflfect in the centre of the 

o 

floating battery." 

Says another eye-witness, " The firing of the rifled guns 
from the iron battery on Cummings's Point became ex- 
tremely accurate in the afternoon of Friday, cutting out 
large quantities of the masonry about the embrasures at 
every shot, throwing concrete among the cannoneers, and 
slightly wounding and stunning others. One piece struck 
Sergeant Kernan, an old Mexican -War veteran ; hitting him 
on the head, and knocking him down. On being revived, he 
was asked if he was hurt badly. He replied, ' No ; I was 
only knocked down temporarily ;' and he went to work 
again." * 

With the fort on fire, and the men as busily engaged in 
fighting flames as fighting rebels, with provisions gone, and 

* Horace Greeley's History, &c. 



16 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

powder rolled into the sea to keep from explosion, the gar- 
rison was compelled to surrender ; but they asked and 
obtained honorable terms. "When the baggage had all 
been removed, a part of the garrison was told off as gun- 
ners to salute their flag with fifty guns ; the stars and 
stripes being lowered with cheers at the firing of the last 
gun. Unhappily, there was at that fire a premature explo- 
sion, whereby one of the gunners was killed, and three 
more or less seriously wounded. The men were then 
formed and marched out, preceded by their band, playing 
inspiring airs, and taken on board the 'Isabel,' whereby they 
were transferred to the Federal steamship ' Baltic ' awaiting 
them off the bar, which brought them directly to New York ; 
whence Major Anderson despatched to his Government this 
brief and manly report : — 

'Steamship "Baltic," off Sandy Hook, ) 
April 18, 1861. ( 

' The Honorable S. Cameron, 

' Secretary of War, Washington, D. G. 
tgiR^ — Having defended Fort Sumter for thirty-four 
hours, until the quarters were entirely burned, the main 
gates destroyed, the gorge-wall seriously injured, the maga- 
zine surrounded by flames, and its door closed from the 
effects of the heat, four barrels and three cartridges of pow- 
der only being available, and no provisions but pork remain- 
ing, I accepted terms of evacuation offered by Gen. Beaure- 
gard (being the same offered by him on the 11th instant, 
prior to the commencement of hostilities), and marched out 
of the fort on Sunday afternoon, the 14th instant, with col- 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 17 

ors flying and drums beating, bringing away company and 
private property, and saluting my flag with fifty guns. 
* Robert Anderson, 

' Major First Artillery: " * 

And so the war began. The news went over the wires, 
and everywhere met a response in the hearts of the loyal 
people. On the morning of April 15, 1861, President 
Lincoln issued a proclamation, — his very first, — calling 
for patriots to defend the flag. There was but one response 
amid the echoing hills of the North, and along her resound- 
ing shores. " To arms, to arms ! " shouted the men ; and 
the women looked up from their needles, and saw their 
peaceful husbands, fathers, and sons transformed at once 
into patriots, like the warrior of ancient story springing 
full-armed into being, as heroes and champions of liberty. 

" * Come to the Rescue ! ' the cry went forth 

Through the length and breadth of the loyal North ; 

For the gun that startled Sumter heard 

Wakened the land with its fiery word. 

The farmer paused with his work half done, 

And snatched from the nail his rusty gun ; 

And the swart mechanic wiped his brow, 

Shouting, ' There's work for my strong arm now ! * 

And the parson doffed his gown, and said, 

' Bring me my right good sword instead ; ' 

And the scholar paused in his eager quest. 

And buckled on his belt with the rest ; 

* Greeley's History. 



18 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, 

And each and all to the rescue went 
As unto a loyal tournament : 
For the loyal blood of the nation stirred 
To the gun that startled Sumter heard." * 

The Governor of Massachusetts learned before the proc- 
lamation arrived the probable necessity of martial resistance 
to Southern aggression, too long endured ; and, as in the 
days of the Ee volution, couriers on horseback rode into 
towns in the vicinity of Boston, like Paul Revere in those 
earlier " times which tried men's souls ; " while extra trains 
were run to cities along the railroads, each messenger con- 
veying the intelligence that the war had begun, and the 
militia must be in readiness to depart. Some towns were 
aroused at midnight by the alarm-bell ; and, early the next 
morning, the troops of Massachusetts were on their way to 
defend the capital of the nation, whose capture was threat- 
ened by the leaders of the Southern rebels. This was the 
intention of that double-dyed traitor, Robert E. Lee, whose 
name has been a terror to loyal hearts in the border States, 
and will be " a hissing and a byword " in all future genera- 
tions. A New-England paper thus graphically describes 
the treasonable intentions of that rebel general, who adroitly 
slipped his head from the noose he richly deserved : — 

"How Gen. Lee went into the War. — On the Sun- 
day when the news arrived of the fall of Sumter, a gentle- 
man of our acquaintance, in whom we place perfect confi- 
dence, took the cars at Washington to go to Richmond. 

* Jlrs. Caroline A. Mason. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 19 

tjpon the train were Alexander A. H. Stuart, William Bal- 
lard Preston, and another member of the committee which 
the Virginia Legislature had sent up to Washington to con- 
fer with the Government, or, more properly speaking, to see 
what manner of man the new President was, and to spy out 
the land. At one of the stations beyond Alexandria, quite 
a crowd had collected ; and eager demands were made for 
the news as the train came in. Our informant noticed one 
well-dressed gentleman, who seemed to be spokesman and 
chief person in the crowd. He was flourishing up and 
down the platform with more or less consequence, and, as 
the train stopped, cried out, — 

" ' What's the news ? ' 

" ' Sumter has fallen,' was the reply. 

" ' I'll raise an army, and march on Washington ! ' ex- 
claimed the excited individual, swinging his cane, and walk- 
ing uneasily about. 

" ' I'll commence to-morrow morning,' he repeated, ' and 
raise an army, and take Washington. Hadn't I better do it, 
Mr. Preston ? ' 

"It was some time before Preston answered, so long that 
our friend thought he would make no reply ; when he said 
slowly and oracularly, — 

" ' True courage Avaits on deliberation.' 

" 'Was there any bloodshed?' asked the excited man. 

" ' No.' 

"'Wasn't there?' looking down, and speaking as if 
surprised. As the train moved off, he was heard to 
repeat, — 



20 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

'* * I shall raise an army, and march on Washington.* 

"When the train was under way, our friend asked, — 

" ' Who is that enthusiastic man? ' 

" ' That is Col. Lee,' said Mr. Preston. 

"And that is the man who has since been commander of 
the rebel forces, and who is represented as having very 
reluctantly, and only after days of prayer, drawn the sword 
against the Government that educated and promoted him. 
And it must be remembered that this occurrence took place 
before Virginia had passed its bogus ordinance of secession, 
and five days before Lee's resignation. Lee did raise a force 
of about three thousand men, and marched them to Harper's 
Ferry to procure arms. The intention was to march into 
Maryland, which, it was supposed, would rise at once, and 
go out of the Union, carrying with it the national capital, 
which the rebels would at once occupy, and proclaim them- 
selves the Government of the United States. It is evident 
that they did not intend to go off, and put themselves in the 
attitude of rebels, but that their plan was to take the capital 
and the Government machinery, and then let the North 
' rebel,' if they didn't like the arrangement." * 

Rhode Island was not in the background at this time. As 
early as January, 1861, she, with other Northern States, 
offered troops to President Buchanan ; but the timid, inde- 
cisive President did not accept them. They were offered to 
Gen. Scott ; and, when the proclamation came, they were 

* Hartford Press. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 21 

allowed to be a part of the seventy-five thousand men for 
whom President Lincoln called. Ex-Governor Banks, even 
then, declared the call should have been for seven hundred 
thousand, in order that the Rebellion be crushed at once ; 
and succeeding events have proved the wisdom of his re- 
mark. But the crushing of the viper Secession was not 
all that was needed : the nest of all the Southern vipers, 
which was slavery, was to be totally destroyed ; and there- 
fore, slowly but surely, the man whom God had appointed 
to lead the way marched on to freedom and victory. 

The Governor of Rhode Island commanded his troops in 
person ; and men of wealth and high social position flocked 
to his standard. One millionnaire, who had purchased his 
ticket for a trip to England, destroyed it, and, instead of 
going, enlisted in his country's service. 

Women throughout New England, with the loyal hearts 
of their fore-mothers of Revolutionary days, lent willing aid 
in preparing the volunteers for their noble service. Far 
into the night-hours did some of them, in Massachusetts* 
ancient town of Beverly, prolong their stay in the old Town 
Hall, plying the needle with weary eyes, and packing arti- 
cles of clothing for the soldier-boys, who were already as 
far as Boston, bivouacking in the old " Cradle of Liberty," 
on their way to defend Washington and the institutions of 
liberty and humanity. Doubtless similar scenes occurred 
in other places. The spirit of many loyal wives is fittingly 
expressed in the following poem : * — 

* By Charles A. Barry, 



22 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



THE MASSACHUSETTS SOLDIER'S WIFE. 

One parting kiss ; the time is come 

That severs thee and me : 
I hear the rolling of the drum, 

The stars and stripes J see ! 

My heart leaps up ; I catch the cry 
Of freemen, old and young : — 

Away, God speed you ! do, or die ! 
Be first our foes among ! 

The Old Bay State will fondly keep 

Her heroes in her sight : 
Away ! let slaves and cowards weep ; 

Be bravest in the fight ! 

Uphold our flag ; its Sumter stain 

Avenge with Titan blows ; 
Smite down to earth, with leaden rain, 

Columbia's brutal foes ! 

I mourn not, Richard, that I lose 

The star of all my life ; 
Go ; and remember that I choose 

To be a soldier's wife. 

I'll teach my boy, " if thou shouldst fall," 

The GREATNESS of thy fate ; 
Thy name shall be his " all-in-all," 

Thy grave his best estate. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 23 

I'll twine around his golden hair 

The laurel thou mayst earn ; 
And battle-cry and martial air 

Our darling boy shall learn. 

The gilded eagle on thy breast 

Against his heart I'll bind ; 
The crimson sash that keeps thy vest 

Around his waist I'll wind. 

And then I'll tell him how you went 

All grandly to the strife : 
Ah, Richard ! I was surely meant 

To be a soldier's wife. 

Fear not for us ; as strong as oak 

The arms you gently feel : 
Last night I prayed ; ere morning broke, 

My heart was changed to steel. 

Go ! welcome any shape of death ! 

Be my ambition thine ; 
Fight bravely : every trumpet's breath 

Proclaims this wish of mine. 

Fight bravely, Richard ! Jiglitfor me ; 

Fight bravely, I repeat ! 
Sustain the flag, or let it be 

My husband's winding-sheet ! 

Massachusetts soldiers were the first to fall in this civil 
war, as Massachusetts blood was the first to be shed in the 



24 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Revolution ; and it is a remarkable coincidence, that the nine- 
teenth of Aprils 1861, was the day whose deeds paralleled 
the deeds of the nineteenth of April., 1776. Massachusetts 
was thoroughly aroused. It almost seemed, that, as the elo- 
quent Philips said, " when the South cannonaded Fort Sum- 
ter, the bones of Adams stirred in his coffin." He said, too, 
that Massachusetts " had been sleeping on her arms since 
'76 ; and the first cannon-shot brought her to her feet, with the 
war-cry of the Revolution on her lips." And most impres- 
sive was his almost prophetic utterance, " Massachusetts 
blood has consecrated the pavements of Baltimore, and 
those stones are now too sacred to be trodden by slaves." 

Bayard Taylor tells the tale in his fiery words, the 
sparks of true genius and patriotism : — 

THROUGH BALTIMORE. 

THE VOICE OF THE PE]^NSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS. 

'Twas Friday morn : the train drew near 

The city and the shore : 
Far through the sunshine, soft and clear, 
We saw the dear old flags appear ; 
And in our hearts arose a cheer 

For Baltimore. 

Across the broad Patapsco's wave, 

Old Fort McHenry bore 
The starry banner of the brave, 
As when our fathers went to save, 
Or in the trenches find a grave 

At Baltimore. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING, 25 

Before us, pillared in the sky, 
We saw the statue soar 
Of Washington, serene and high ! 
Could traitors view that form, nor fly ? 
Could patriots see, nor gladly die 

For Baltimore ? 

" O city of our country's song ! 

By that swift aid we bore 
When sorely pressed, receive the throng 
Who go to shield our flag from wrong, 
And give us welcome warm and strong 
In Baltimore ! " 

We had no arms : as friends we came, 

As brothers evermore, 
To rally round one sacred name, 
The charter of our power and fame : 
We never dreamed of guilt and shame 
In Baltimore. 

The coward mob upon us fell ; 

McHenry's flag they tore : 
Surprised, borne backward by the swell, 
Beat down with mad, inhuman yell. 
Before us yawned a traitorous hell 
In Baltimore ! 

The streets our soldier-fathers trod 

Blushed with their children's gore : 
We saw the craven rulers nod, 
And dip in blood the civic rod. 
Shall such things be, O righteous God ! 
In Baltimore ? 



26 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

No, never ! By that outrage black 

A solemn oath we swore, 
To bring the Keystone's thousands back, 
Strike down the dastards who attack, 
And leave a red and fiery track 

Through Baltimore ! 

Bow down in haste thy guilty head ! 
God's wrath is swift and sore ; 
The sky with gathering bolts is red : 
Cleanse from thy skirts the slaughter shed, 
Or make thyself an ashen bed, 

O Baltimore ! 

The story of the tragic events which gave the Sixth 
Massachusetts a name that will never die is thus told by 
another * in verse : — 

A TALE OF 1861. 

Come, children, leave your playing ; a tale I have to tell, 
A tale of woe and sorrow, which long ago befell : 
*Twas in the Great Rebellion, in eighteen sixty-one, 
Within the streets of Baltimore, the bloody deed was done. 

Of gallant Major Anderson I told you yesternight ; 

Of Moultrie's shattered battlements, and Sumter's bloodless 

fight; 
And how the cannon's echo shook the North and East and West, 
And woke a flame in loyal hearts which would not be repressed. 

* Edward Sprague Eand, jun. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISI^^G. 27 

Oh ! 'twas a goodly sight to see the uprising of the people ; 
To hear the clanging bells ring out from every tower and steeple ; 
To see our glorious flag flung wide all through the loyal land; 
To know at last the North stood up a firm, united band. 

A call went forth through all the land : " On, on to Washington ! " 
On for the Union that we prize, for Right and Freedom, on ! 
'Twas sunset ere the call was known ; but, ere the break of day, 
Our brave militia were in arms, and ready for the fray. 

They left the plough, forsook the loom ; bade hasty, sad farewell 
To all they loved, with looks which spoke far more than words 

could tell : 
And loving wives and mothers wept, and blessed them on their 

way ; 
But, 'mid the throng of anxious ones, not one would bid them stay. 

As on through loyal towns they went, 'twas one prolonged ovation : 
Of all the patriot people did, would weary the narration. 
On, on for Washington they pressed ; for there the patriot band 
For the Union and for Liberty, for Right, must make their stand. 

'Twas the nineteenth of April ! O most auspicious day ! 
It ushered in at Lexington the bloody fatal fray ; 
Baptized our Revolution ; and 'twas again to be 
For Massachusetts men to bleed for freedom and the free. 

Through Baltimore their pathway led, and boldly on they passed ; 
But bitter taunts and angry words fell on them thick and fast : 
'Twas the low rabble of the town by whom the deed was done ; 
But men of wealth and rank were there, and urged and cheered 
them on. 



28 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Oh ! who shall tell of all that chanced, or in that fearful fray- 
Tell what was done, or truly write the history of that day ? 
How, not content with scoffs and taunts, the pavement up they 

tore, 
And showered the stones upon our troops, around, behind, before ? 

" Why did they let them ? " Oh, alas ! forgetful grows my mind ; 
The others had passed safely on, a few were left behind : 
For thus Secession's chivalry its boldest deeds has done ; 
And often have they bravely fought, a hundred against one. 

On, on in close-set ranks they pressed, turned not to left or 

right : 
They all were Massachusetts men ; they never thought of flight ; 
But as the stones came thick and fast, the curses deep and loud, 
In self-defence, at bay, they turned, and fired upon the crowd. 

Oh ! many a taunting traitor fell beneath their deadly fire ; 

But thicker flew the showers of stones, and fiercer grew their ire. 

Enough, — they fought their passage through, and then kept 

marching on. 
Obedient to their country's call, to rescue Washington. 

Yet not unscathed : three noble ones fell in the bloody fray ; 
And many carry scarring wounds in memory of that day ; 
And high on Honor's scroll are writ the names of chose who fell, 
First martyrs to maintain the rights of the land we love so well. 

Yes, Washington was saved, my boy : another time I'll tell 
Of Freedom's armies marshalled there, of all that there befell. 
The blood then spilt at Baltimore roused all the loyal land, 
And such an army sprung to birth no traitors could withstand. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISmO. 29 

I mind me when the honored dead in solemn pomp came home ; 
How our starry banner drooped half-mast on the high State-House 

dome; 
How minute-guns spoke sharply out, and sad the bells were toll- 

And mournfully upon the breeze the funeral dirge was rolling. 

Oh ! there was that within the looks, within the eyes, of men, 

A stern determination I never saw till then : 

With hard-pressed lips and swimming eyes they watched the 

funeral train ; 
With bowed, uncovered heads, they stood amid the falling rain. 

In vision yet I seem to see the biers with flags intwined ; 
The memory of that solemn dirge will never flee my mind : 
And Massachusetts lifts her head more proudly at this day 
That twice in Freedom's battles her sons have led the way. 

O children ! guard your heritage ; be to your country true ; 
Be proud of Massachusetts, and let her be proud of you ; 
Be ready in her cause to fight, and for her sake to fall ; 
But cherish in your heart of hearts the Union, above all ! 

Fast in the track of the Sixth came the Eighth Massa- 
chusetts and the New- York Seventh. The gallant oflicer 
and gifted writer, Theodore Winthrop, wrote a graphic 
sketch of the short but useful services of the Eighth Massa- 
chusetts and New- York Seventh, from which the follow- 
ing extracts are given. Major Winthrop was a member 
of the New-York regiment, and was killed in the battle of 
Great Bethel. After describing the departure from New 



30 FIELD, GUIs BOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. Jl 

York, and embarkation on board the "Boston" at Philadel- 
phia, he says, — 

" Sunday, the 21st, was a long and somewhat anxious 
day. While we Avere bowling along in the sweet sunshine 
and sweeter moonlight of the halcyon time. Uncle Sam 
might be dethroned by somebody in buckram, or Baltimore 
burnt by the boys from Lynn and Marblehead, revenging 
the massacre of their fellows. Every one begins to com- 
prehend the fiery eagerness of men who live in historic* 
times. ' I wish I had control of chain-lightnino; for a few 
minutes,' says 0., the droll fellow of our company : ' I'd 
make it come thick and heavy, and knock spots out of Se- 
cession.' 

" At early dawn of Monday, 22d, after feeling along 
slowly all night, we see the harbor of Annapolis. A frig- 
ate with sails unbent lies at anchor. She flies the stars and 
stripes. Hurrah ! 

"A large steamboat is aground farther in. As soon as 
we can see any thing, we catch the glitter of bayonets on 
board. 

" By and by boats come oiF, and we get news that the 
steamer is the ' Maryland,' a ferry-boat of the Philadel- 
phia and Baltimore Railroad. The Massachusetts Eighth 
Regiment had been just in time to seize her on the north 
side of the Chesapeake. They learned that she was to be 
carried off by the crew, and leave them blockaded ; so 
they shot their Zouaves ahead as skirmishers. The fine 
fellows rattled on board ; and, before the steamboat had time 
to take a turn or open a valve, she was held by Massachusetts 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 31 

in trust for Uncle Sam. Hurrah for the most important 
prize thus far in the war ! It probably saved the ' Consti- 
tution,' ' Old Ironsides,' from capture by the traitors. It 
probably saved Annapolis, and kept Maryland open without 
bloodshed. 

" As soon as the Massachusetts regiment had made prize 
of the ferry-boat, a call was made for engineers to run her. 
Some twenty men at once stepped to the front. We of the 
New- York Seventh afterwards concluded, that whatever 
was needed in the way of skill or handicraft could be found 
among those brother Yankees. They were the men to 
make armies of. They could tailor for themselves, shoe 
themselves ; do their own blacksmithing, gunsmithing, and 
all other work that calls for sturdy arms and nimble fingers. 
In fact, I have such profound confidence in the universal 
accomplishments of the Massachusetts Eighth, that I have 
no doubt, if the order were, ' Poets, to the front ! ' ' Painters, 
present arms ! ' ' Sculptors, charge bayonets ! ' a baker's 
dozen out of every company would respond. 

" Well, to go on with their story : when they had taken 
their prize, they drove her straight down stream to Annapo- 
lis, the nearest point to Washington. There they found the 
Naval Academy in danger of attack, and ' Old Ironsides ' — 
serving as a practice-ship for the future midshipmen — also 
exposed. The call was now for seamen to man the old 
craft, and save her from a worse enemy than her prototpye 
met in the ' Guerriere.' Seamen? Of course! They 
were Marblehead men, Gloucester men, Beverly men, sea- 
men all, ]par excellence ! They clapped on the frigate to aid 



32 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the middies, and by and by started her out into the stream. 
In doing this, their own pilot took the chance to run them 
purposely on a shoal in the intricate channel. A great er- 
ror of judgment on his part! — as he perceived, when he 
found himself in irons and in confinement. ' The days of 
trifling with traitors are over, ' think the Eighth Regiment 
of Massachusetts. 

" But there they were, hard and fast on the shoal, when 
we came up. Nothing to nibble on but knobs of anthracite. 
Nothing to sleep on softer or cleaner than coal-dust. Noth- 
ing to drink but the brackish water under their keel. 
' Rather rough,' as they afterward patiently told us. 

" Meantime the ' Constitution' had got hold of a tug, and 
was making her way to an anchorage where her guns com- 
manded every thing and everybody. Good and true men 
chuckled greatly over this. The stars and stripes also were 
still up at the fort at the Naval Academy. 

" Our dread, that, while we were off at sea, some great 
and perhaps fatal harm had been suffered, was greatly light- 
ened by these good omens. If Annapolis was safe, why not 
Washington safe also ? If treachery had got head at the 
capital, would not treachery have reached out its hand, and 
snatched this doorway? These were our speculations as we 
began to discern objects before we heard news. 

"But ncAvs came presently. Boats pulled off to us. 
Our officers were put into communication with the shore. 
The scanty facts of our position became known from man 
to man. We privates have greatly the advantage in bat- 
tling with the doubt of such a time. We know that we 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 33 

have nothing to do with rumors. Orders are what we go 
by ; and orders are facts. 

" We lay a long, lingering day off Annapolis. The air 
was full of doubt, and we were eager to be let loose. All 
this while the ' Maryland ' stuck fast on the bar. We could 
see them half a mile off, making every effort to lighten 
her. The soldiers tramped forward and aft, danced on her 
decks, shot overboard a heavy baggage-truck. We saw 
them start the truck for the stern with a cheer. It crashed 
down. One end stuck in the mud : the other fell back, 
and rested on the boat. They went at it with axes, and 
presently it was clear. 

" As the tide rose, we gave our grounded friends a lift 
with a hawser. No go ! The 'Boston' tugged in vain. We 
got near enough to see the whites of the Massachusetts 
eyes, and their unlucky faces and uniforms all grimy 
with their lodgings in the coal-dust. They could not have 
been blacker if they had been breathing battle-smoke and 
dust all day. That experience was clear gain to them. 

"We staid all next day at Annapolis. The 'Boston' 
brought the Massachusetts Eighth ashore that night. Poor 
fellows ! what a figure they cut w^hen we found them bivou- 
acked on the Academy grounds next morning ! To begin : 
they had come off in hot, patriotic haste, half-uniformed 
and half-outjBtted. Finding that Baltimore had been taken 
by its own loafers and traitors, and that the Chesapeake 
Ferry was impracticable, had obliged them to change line of 
march. They were out of grub. They were parched dry 
for want of water on the ferry-boat. Nobody could deci- 



34 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND P BISON. 

pher Caucasian, much less Bunker-Hill Yankee, in their 
grimy visages. 

" But, hungry, thirsty, grimy, these fellows were grit. 

'' Massachusetts ought to be proud of such hardy, cheer- 
ful, faithful sons. 

'^ We of the Seventh are proud, for our part, that it was 
our privilege to share our rations with them, and to begin a 
fraternization which grows closer every day, and will be 
historical. 

"But I must make a shorter story. We drilled and 
were reviewed that morning on the Academy parade. In 
the afternoon, the Naval School paraded their last before 
they gave up their barracks to the coming soldiery. So 
ended the 23d of April. 

" Midnight, 24th. — We were rattled up by an alarm, — 
perhaps a sliam one, to keep us awake and lively. In a 
moment, the whole regiment was in order of battle in the 
moonlight on the parade. It was a most brilliant specta- 
cle, as company after company rushed forward, with rifles 
glittering, to take their places in the array. 

" After this pretty spurt, we were rationed with pork, 
beef, and bread, for three days ; and ordered to be ready'-to 
march on the instant. 

" Meantime, Gen. Butler's command, the Massachu- 
setts Eighth, had been busy knocking disorder in the head. 

" Presently after their landing, and before they were re- 
freshed, they pushed companies out to occupy the railroad- 
track beyond the town. 

" They found it torn up. No doubt the scamps who did 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 35 

the shabby job fancied that there would be no more travel 
that way until strawberry -time. They fancied the Yankees 
would sit down on the fences, and begin to whittle white-oak 
toothpicks, darning the rebels through their noses mean- 
while. 

" I know these men of the Eighth can whittle, and I 
presume they can say ' Darn it,' if occasion requires ; but 
just now track-laying was the business on hand. 

" ' Wanted, experienced track-layers ! ' was the word 
along the files. 

" All at once the line of the road became densely popu- 
lated with experienced track-layers, fresh from Massachu- 
setts. 

" ' Presto, change ! ' the rails were relaid, spiked, and the 
roadway levelled and better ballasted than any road I ever 
saw south of Mason and Dixon's line. ' We must leave a 
good job for these folks to model after,' say the Massachu- 
setts Eighth. 

" A track without a train is as useless as a gun without 
a man. Train and engine must be had. ' Uncle Sam's 
mails and troops cannot be stopped another minute,' our 
energetic friends conclude. So, the railroad company's 
people being either frightened or false, in marches Massa- 
chusetts to the station. ' We, the people of the United 
States, want rolling-stock for the use of the Union,' they 
said, or words to that effect. 

" The engine — a frowzy machine at the best — had been 
purposely disabled. 

" Here appeared the deus ex machina, Charles Honians, 



36 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

Beverly Light Guard, Company E, Eighth Massachusetts 
Regiment. 

" That is the man, name and titles in full ; and he de- 
serves well of his country. 

" He took a quiet squint at the engine ( it was as help- 
less as a boned turkey) ; and he found ' Charles Homans, 
his mark,' Avritten all over it. 

" The old rattletrap was an old friend. Charles Homans 
had had a share in building it. The machine and the man 
said ' How d'ye do ? ' at once. Homans called for a gang 
of engine-builders. Of course they swarmed out of the 
ranks. They passed their hands over the locomotive a few 
times ; and presently it was ready to whistle and wheeze 
and rumble and gallop, as if no traitor had ever tried to 
steal the go and the music out of it. 

" This had all been done during the afternoon of the 23d. 
During the night, the renovated engine was kept cruising 
up and down the track to see all clear. Guards of the 
Eighth were also posted to protect passage. 

" Our commander had, I presume, been co-operating with 
Gen. Butler in this business. The Naval-Academy au- 
thorities had given us every despatch and assistance ; and 
the middies, frank, personal hospitality. The day was hal- 
cyon, the grass was green and soft, the apple-trees were just 
in blossom : it was a day to be remembered. 

" Many of us will remember it, and show the marks of it 
for months, as the day we had our heads cropped. By even- 
ing, there was liardly one poll in the Seventh tenable by 
anybody's grip. Most sat in the shade, and were shorn 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 37 

by a barber. A few were honored with a clip by the artist 
hand of the petit caporal of our Engineer Company. 

"While I rattle off these trifling details, let me not fail to 
call attention to the grave service done by our regiment, by 
its arrival, at the nick of time, at Annapolis. No clearer 
special Providence could have happened. The country 
people of the traitor sort were aroused. Baltimore and its 
mob were but two hours away. The ' Constitution ' had been 
hauled out of reach of a rush by the Massachusetts men, 
first on the ground ; but was half-manned, and not fully 
secure. And there lay the ' Maryland,' helpless on the shoal, 
with six or seven hundred souls on board, so near the shore 
that the late Capt. Rynders's gun could have sunk her from 
some ambush. 

" Yes, the Seventh Regiment at Annapolis was the right 
man in the right place ! " 

At night, Major Winthrop was on guard over a howitzer. 
He adds, — 

*' Two of the Massachusetts men come back to the gun 
while we are standing there. One is my friend Stephen 
Morris, of Marblehead, Sutton Light Infantry. I had 
shared my breakfast yesterday with Stephe. So we refra- 
ternize. 

" His business is, ' I make shoes in winter, and fishin' 
in summer.' He gives me a few facts, — suspicious persons 
seen about the track, men on horseback in the distance. 
One of the Massachusetts guard last night challenged his 
captain. Captain replied, ' Officer of the night.' Where- 
upon, says Stephe, ' The recruit let squizzle, and jest missed 



38 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

his ear.' He then related to mc the incident of the raih'oad 
station. 'The first thing they know'd/ says he, 'we bit 
right into the depot, and took charge.' 'I don't mind,' 
Stcphe remarked, — ' I don't mind life, nor yit death ; but, 
whenever 1 see a Massachusetts boy, I stick by him, and if 
them secessionists attack us to-night, or • any other time, 
they'll git in debt.' 

" Whistle, again ! and the train appears. We are ordered 
to ship our howitzer on a platform car. The engine pushes 
us on. This train brings our light baggage and the rear- 
guard. 

" A hundred yards farther on is a delicious fresh spring 
below the bank. While the train halts, Stephe Morris 
rushes down to fill my canteen. ' This a'n't like Marble- 
head,' says Stephe, panting up ; ' but a man that can shin 
up them rocks can git right over this sand.' 

" The train goes slowly on, as a rickety train should. At 
intervals, we see the fresh spots of track just laid by our 
Yankee friends. Near the sixth mile, we began to overtake 
hot and uncomfortable squads of our fellows. The unsea- 
sonable heat of this most breathless day was too much for 
many of the younger men, unaccustomed to rough work, 
and weakened by want of sleep and irregular food in our 
hurried movements thus far. 

" Charles Homans's private carriage was, however, ready 
to pick up tired men, hot men, thirsty men, men with corns, 
or men with blisters. They tumbled into the train in con- 
siderable numbers. 

" An enemy that dared could have made a moderate bao" 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 39 

of stragglers at this time. But they would not have been 
allowed to straggle if any enemy had been about. By this 
time, we were convinced that no attack was to be expected 
in this part of the way. 

" The main body of the regiment, under Major Shaler, a 
tall, soldierly fellow, with a mustache of the fighting-color, 
tramped on their own pins to the watering-place, eight miles 
or so from Annapolis. There troops and train came to a 
halt, with the news that a bridge over a country road was 
broken a mile farther on. 

" It had been distinctly insisted upon, in the usual South- 
ern style, that we were not to be allowed to pass through 
Maryland, and that we were to be ' welcomed to hospitable 
graves.' The broken bridge was a capital spot for a skirm- 
ish. Why not look for it here ? 

" We looked, but got nothing. The rascals could skulk 
about by night, tear up rails, and hide them where they 
might be found by a man with half an eye, or half destroy a 
bridge ; but there was no shoot in them. They have not 
faith enough in their cause to risk their lives for it, even 
behind a tree or from one of these thickets, — choice spots 
for ambush. 

" So we had no battle there but a battle of the ele- 
ments. The volcanic heat of the morning was followed 
by a furious storm of wind and a smart shower. The 
regiment wrapped themselves in their blankets, and took 
their wetting with more or less satisfaction. They were 
receiving samples of all the different little miseries of a 
campaign.'* 



40 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

A hne description of a night-march, and the efforts of our 
citizen soldiers to reach Washington, follows : — 

" It was full-moonlight, and the night inexpressibly sweet 
and serene. The air was cool, and vivified by the gust and 
shower of the afternoon. Fresh spring was in every breath. 
Our fellows had forgotten that this morning they were hot 
and disgusted. Every one hugged his rifle as if it were the 
arm of the girl of his heart, and stepped out gayly for the 
promenade. Tired or foot-sore men, or even lazy ones, 
could mount upon the two freight-cars we were using for 
artillery-wagons. There were stout arms enough to tow^ the 
whole. 

" It was an original kind of march. I suppose a battery 
of howitzers never before found itself mounted upon cars, 
ready to open fire at ouce, and bang away into the offing 
with shrapnel, or into the bushes with canister. Our line 
extended a half-mile along the track. It was beautiful to 
stand on a bank above a cutting, and watch the files strike 
from the shadow of a wood into a broad flame of moonli<j-ht, 
every rifle sparkling up alert as it came forward ; a beau- 
tiful sight to see the barrels writing themselves upon the 
dimness, each a silver flash. 

"By and by, ' Halt ! ' came repeated along from the front, 
company after company. ' Halt ! a rail gone.* 

" It was found without difficulty. The imbeciles who took 
it up probably supposed we would not wish to wet our feet 
by searching for it in the dewy grass of the next field. 
With incredible doltishness, they had also left the chairs and 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 41 

spikes beside the track. Bonnell took hold, and in a few 
minutes had the rail in place, and firm enough to pass the 
engine. Remember, we were not only hurrying on to suc- 
cor Washington, but opening the only convenient and prac- 
ticable route between it and the loyal States. 

"A little farther on, we came to a village, — a rare sight 
in this scantily peopled region. Here Sergeant Keeler of 
our company, the tallest man in the regiment, and one 
of the handiest, suggested that we should tear up the 
rails at a turnout by the station, and so be prepared for 
chances. So ' Out crowbars ! ' was the word. We tore 
up and bagged half a dozen rails, with chairs and spikes 
complete. Here, too, some of the engineers found a keg 
of spikes. This was also bagged, and loaded on our cars. 
We fought the chaps with their own weapons, since they 
would not meet us with ours. 

" These things made delay ; and by and by there was a 
long halt, while the colonel communicated, by orders sounded 
along the line, with the engine. Homans's drag was hard 
after us, bringing our knapsacks and traps. 

" After I had admired for some time the beauty of our 
moonlit line, and listened to the orders as they grew or died 
along the distance, I began to want excitement. Bonnell 
suggested that he and I should scout up the road, and see if 
any rails were wanting. We travelled along into the quiet 
night. 

" A mile ahead of the line, we suddenly caught the gleam 
of a rifle-barrel. ' Who goes there ? ' one of our own 
scouts challenged smartly. 



42 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" We had arrived at the nick of time. Three rails were 
up. Two of them were easily foimd. The third was dis- 
covered by beating the bush thoroughly. Bonnell and I 
ran back for tools, and returned at full trot with crow- 
bar and sledge on our shoulders. There were plenty of 
willing hands to help, — too many, indeed; and, with the 
aid of a huge Massachusetts man, we soon had the rail in 
place. 

" From this time on we were constantly interrupted. Not a 
half-mile passed without a rail up. Bonnell was always at 
the front, laying track ; and I am proud to say that he 
accepted me as aide-de-camp . Other fellows, unknown to 
me in the dark, gave hearty help. The Seventh showed 
that it could do something else than drill. 

"At one spot, on a high embankment over standing water, 
the rail was gone ; sunk, probably. Here w^e tried our rails 
brought from the turnout. They were too short. We sup- 
plemented -svith a length of plank from our stores. We 
rolled our cars carefully over. They passed safe ; but 
Ilomans shook his head. He could not venture a locomo- 
tive on that frail stuff. So we lost the society of the 
' J. H. Nicholson.' Next day, the Massachusetts com- 
mander called for some one to dive in the pool for the lost 
rail. Plump into the water went a little wiry chap, and 
grappled the rail. ' When I come up,' says the brave fellow 
afterwards to me, ' our officer out with a twenty-dollar gold- 
piece, and wanted me to take it. " That a'n't what I come 
for," says I. " Take it," says he, " and share with the others." 
" That a'n't what they come for," says I. But I took a big 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 43 

cold,' the diver contiaued, ' and I'm condemned hoarse 
yit ; ' which was the fact. 

" Farther on we found a whole length of track torn up on 
both sides, sleepers and all ; and the same thing repeated 
with alternations of breaks of single rails. Our howitzer- 
ropes came into play to hoist and haul. We were not going 
to be stopped. 

"But it was becoming a noche triste to some of our 
comrades. We had now marched some sixteen miles. 
The distance was trifling ; but the men had been on their 
legs pretty much all day and night. Hardly any one had 
had any full or substantial sleep or meal since we started 
from New York. They napped off, standing, leaning on 
their guns, dropping down in their tracks on the wet ground, 
at every halt. They were sleepy, but plucky. As we passed 
through deep cuttings, places, as it were, built for defence, 
there was a general desire that the tedium of the night 
should be relieved by a shindy. 

" During the whole night I saw our officers moving about 
the line, doing their duty vigorously, despite exhaustion, 
hunger, and sleeplessness. 

" About midnight, our friends of the Eighth had joined us ; 
and our whole little army struggled on together. I find that 
I have been rather understating the troubles of the march. 
It seems impossible that such difficulty could be encountered 
within twenty miles of the capital of our nation. But we 
were making a rush to put ourselves in that capital ; and we 
could not proceed in the slow, systematic way of an advan- 
cing army. We must take the risk, and stand the suffering, 



44 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

whatever it was. So the Seventh Regiment went through 
its bloodless noche triste, 

" "We put our guns on their own wheels, all dropped into 
ranks as if on parade, and marched the last two miles to 
the station. We still had no certain information. Until we 
actually saw the train awaiting us, and the Washington 
companies, who had come down to escort us, drawn up, we 
did not know whether our Uncle Sam was still a resident 
of the capital. 

"We packed into the train, and rolled away to Wash- 
ington. 

" We marched up to the White House, showed ourselves to 
the President, made our bow to him as our host, and then 
marched up to the Capitol, our grand lodgings. 

*' There we are now, quartered in the Representatives' 
Chamber. 

" And here I must hastily end this first sketch of the Great 
Defence. May it continue to be as firm and faithful as it is 
this day ! 

" I have scribbled my story with a thousand men stirring 
about me. If any of my sentences miss their aim, accuse 
my comrades and the bewilderment of this martial crowd ; 
for here are four or five thousand others on the same busi- 
ness as ourselves, and drums are beating, guns are clanking, 
companies are tramping, all the while. Our friends of the 
Eighth Massachusetts are quartered under the dome, and 
cheer us whenever we pass. 

"Desks marked 'John Covode,' 'John Cochran,' and 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 45 

* Anson Burlingame/ have allowed me to use them as I 
wrote." * 

We have told at some length the deeds of Massachusetts 
and other Eastern Regiments, showing the patriotism, valor, 
and industry of the soldiers in them ; and yet " the half 
has not been told." 

In a severe easterly rain-storm, — no slight affair on the 
Atlantic coast, — the first Massachusetts troops started 
for Washington. The company from Marblehead, true to 
the patriotic reputation of their gallant fathers, were the 
first at the rendezvous. " Among the incidents narrated, 
it is mentioned, that, while the recruits were forming at 
Marblehead, one man,< calling to mind his deserted store, 
and his family which he was about to leave, for a moment 
hesitated ; when his wife, in the most emphatic manner, 
exclaimed, ' If you don't go, I'll never live with you 1 ' and 
another woman, in the true spirit of '76, said, ' Here are my 
two sons ; and I'm sorry I have not more to go 1 ' A large 
sum of money was subscribed by liberal citizens for the sup- 
port of the families of the soldiers during their absence." f 

Among the numerous instances of devotion to the coun- 
try is the following : — 

" Gov. Andrew has a letter from a clergyman of an in- 
terior society of this State, who asks that the law making him 
exempt from military duty may be repealed in his case." 

Another, showing hearty sympathy, is as follows : — 

" While the Massachusetts soldiers were passing down 
Broadway, amidst the waving of handkerchiefs by the 

* Atlantic Monthly, June, 1864. t Salem Register. 



40 FIELD, GUXBOAT, IIOSPIT.IL, AXD PniSOy. 

ladies and the cheers of the men, there was a group of 
people in front of a public office, from which the most 
hearty demonstrations proceeded. That crowd was wholly 
composed of natives of the Bay State, who felt a just pride 
in the old Commonwealth. A very prominent citizen of 
New York joined the group, and was cheering most lustily ; 
when he was pleasantly told by an intimate friend that he 
could not unite with that crowd, as he was not a native of 
old Massachusetts. ' I have half a right to be with you,' he 
replied ; ' for, though I am a Xew-Yorker, I married a Boston 
lady, and made a first-rate bargain.' We hardly need add 
that he was allowed to stand among the sons of Massachu- 
setts, and cheer to his heart's content."* 

In one of the companies attached to the famous Sixth 
Regiment, which gave the first martyi's to liberty, was a 
newly enlisted recruit, the eldest sou of a widow in a coun- 
try town, who followed her son to the city to take a last 
look of him until he returns from the war. She did not 
come to urge him to return to his peaceful home and pur- 
suits, but rather to cheer him with a mother's blessino-. 
Fearing that her son might want for money during absence, 
she raised some by the sale of her cow, and being admit- 
ted inside the lines, just before the troops left the State 
House, pressed the money on her boy, who declined it. 

In Gloucester, a woman, with the same spirit as that which 
animated the Spartan mother, said to her son, "Your coun- 
try wants you more than I do : GO ! " 

In Canton, a private in Company H, named Preble, 

* Salem Register. 



RECORDS OF THE GREAT UPRISING. 47 

a name historic and heroic, — went to announce to his be- 
trothed that he was Avarned to service. She was ill of that 
siren disease, — consumption. Her mother, who carefully 
broke the intelligence to her, told her she might prevent her 
lover from exposing his life ; but the loyal-hearted one 
looked up from her death-bed, and bade her chosen one 
go with her blessing. 

A young girl with all a maiden's love of fine clothing, 
on receiving a sum of money from her father with which to 
purchase a silk dress, bought only calico, and gave the rest 
of the money to the men who were going forth to battle 
for her safety. 

Such are some of the deeds of loyalty and patriotism, 
which, at the East, inaugurated the war. The Great West 
joined in this grand uprising of a free people to protect their 
liberties. Troops came from Michigan to defend Washing- 
ton ; and all through the war the Western States \'ied vdxh. 
the Eastern in giving tokens of loyalty by a liberal supply of 
men and means to carry on the war. Volumes could easily 
be written to show the loyalty, bravery, and patriotism of the 
North and West. The Atlantic heard the cry, '^ To arms ! " 
sounded from the Capitol ; and the same cry echoed along 
the shores of the Pacific. Maine gave her choicest sons ; 
and California, stirred by the resistless eloquence of Rev. 
T. Starr King, did not withhold her jewels. The enthusiasm 
of the people everywhere was intense ; and the civilized 
world far over the blue waves was soon looking with un- 
wonted interest to behold the result of the grand uprising. 



48 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



CHAPTEn II. 

COURAGE, BRAVERY, AND PATRIOTISlkl ON THE FIELIX, 

*' Shoulder to shoulder ride the brother-bands, 
Brave hearts and tender, with undaunted eye, 
"With manly patience ready to endure, 
With gallant daring resolute to die." 

Harriet Beecher Stotte. 

y^f NTHUSIASM such as was never seen before has been 
ilT| awakened for the American flag during the four years 
of the Rebellion, and manifested in shout and song 
wherever the beautiful banner of our country was unfitrled. 
And all along the Atlantic shores, amid the granite hills and 
village-decked valleys of New England, far over the broad 
prairies of the West, and on the green Pacific slopes, — every- 
where waved the gay stripes and blazed the silver stars of 
our flag, gorgeous in its beauty, serene in its splendor. 
Human hearts have thrilled at the sight of its ample folds 
floating on the air of the free Northern States ; human hands 
have lifted it, rejoicing, to the summit of its staff; human 
voices have uttered and echoed exultant huzzas as the 
flag that symbolized Freedom and Union, flung out on the 



I COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 49 

ambient air by loyal hands, cheered and gladdened each 
sympathetic beholder like an angel presence.* 

It is said, that " as one of the brigades of the reserve corps, 
which came up to the rescue of Gen. Thomas at Chicka- 
mauga, was marching through Athens, Ala., a bright-eyed 
girl of four summers was looking at the sturdy fellows tramp- 
ing by. "WTien she saw the sun glancing through the stripes of 
red, and on the golden stars of the flag, she exclaimed, clap- 
ping her hands, ' O pa, pa ! God made that flag. See the 
stars ! ' A shout, deep and loud, went up from that column ; 
and many a bronzed veteran lifted his hat as he passed the 

* The First A^nmicAN Flag in Exglanb.— We copy from a Me- 
moir of Elkanah Watson, in the last number of the " New-England Historical 
and Genealogical Register," the following anecdote of Copley the artist, who, 
it will be recollected, was born in Boston, and was the father of the late 
Lord Lyndhurst : — 

" Soon after Mr. Watson's arrival in England, he dined with Copley, the 
distinguished painter, a Bostonian by birth; and came to the conclusion to 
expend a hundred guineas, which he had just easily obtained, for a splen- 
did portrait of himself by that celebrated artist. 

'" The painting was finished,' says Mr. Watson in his journal, ' in most 
admirable style, except the background, which Copley and I designed to rep- 
resent a ship bearing to America the acknowledgment of independence, with 
a sun just rising upon the stripes of the Union streaming from her gaff. 
All was complete, save the flag, which Copley did not deem prudent to hoist 
under present circumstances, as his gallery was a constant resort of the royal 
family and the nobility. I dined with the artist on the glorious 5th of De- 
^ cember, 1782, after listening with him to the speech of the king formally 
recognizing the United States of America as in the rank of nations. Previ- 
ous to dining, and immediately after our return from the House of Lords, he 
invited me into his studio; and there, with a bold hand, a master's touch, 
and, I believe, an American heart, attached to the ship the stars and stripes. 
This was, I imagine, the first American flag hoisted in Old England.'' " 

Mrs. Farrar, in her " Recollections of Seventy Years," speaks with com- 
mendable pride, at this hour, when the " dear old flag" is dearer than ever, 
of the fact that a whaleship, the " Maria," belonging to her father, Wil- 
liam Rotch, was the first to sail beneath the American flag in English waters. 
1 



50 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

sunny-haired child, resolving, if his good right arm availed 
any thing, God's flag should conquer." * 

To defend that flag, to save for posterity, as well as for 
ourselves, all of good and of glory which that dear banner 
represents, our brave boys went forth to battle. The fairest, 
bravest of New-England homes, the pride of the young and 
growing West, the stout-hearted men of the Middle States, 
all went, as to a gala-feast, or to the mount of sacrifice, 
with willing hearts and unswerving footsteps. The record 
of their heroic achievements gilds the lately written pages 
of our country's history with an undying lustre. 

The " New- York Commercial Advertiser" says, " At the 
depot, an affecting incident occurred. Col. Munroe, of the 
Eighth, being loudly called for, appeared, surrounded by Gen. 
Butler, Lieut.-Col. Hinks, and the rest of his staff. A. M. 
Griswold, Esq., a prominent member of the New- York 
bar, stepped forward, holding in his hand a magnificent 
silk flag, mounted on a massive hickory staff. He addressed 
the colonel of the regiment as follows : ' Col. Munroe, — 
Sir, you are from Massachusetts, God bless her ! Her 
sons everywhere are proud of her history ; and, while her 
armies are commanded by such officers as are now at their 
head, we have faith in her future. As a son of Massachu- 
setts, I beg leave to present this standard as a token of my 
appreciation of the cause in which you are engaged. I con- 
fide it to your keeping. Stand by it ! ' 

*' Col. Munroe responded, saying, ' As a son of Massachu- 

* Harper's Weekly. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 51 

setts, I receive it from a son of her soil, and will defend it, 
God helping me.' 

" The cheering which followed was deafening. Nine cheers 
were proposed and given for the flag ; and, at that moment, 
eight hundred hardy soldiers, just arrived from the sacred 
precincts of Bunker Hill, vowed solemnly to defend that 
flaof with life and honor." 

The truthful historian cannot ignore the claims of the 
domestic champions, the genuine ''Home Guard," who, with- 
out ostentation, bore their part in the struggle for Liberty 
and Union by aiding and encouraging those who buckled 
on the armor for a conflict waged before the eyes of an on- 
looking world. The brave at home should not be forgotten. 

" The maid who binds her warrior's sash 

With smile that well her pain dissembles, 
The while beneath her drooping lash 

One starry teardrop hangs and trembles, 
Though Heaven alone records the tear. 

And Fame shall never know her story, 
Her heart shall shed a drop as dear 

As ever dewed the field of glory. 



The wife who girds her husband's sword 

'Mid little ones who weep or wonder. 
And gravely speaks the cheering word. 

What though her heart be rent asunder, 
Doomed nigLtly in her dreams to hear 

The bolts of war around him rattle. 
Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er 

Was poured upon a field of battle. 



52 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Th« mother who conceals her grief 

When to her breast her son she presses, 
Then breathes a few brave words and brief, 

Kissing the patriot brow she blesses, 
With no one but her secret God 

To know the pain that weighs upon her, 
Sheds holy blood as e'er the sod 

Keceived on Freedom's field of honor." * 

Not of them is it now proposed to speak, though this 
chapter is one which will unfold a panorama of courage, 
heroism, and patriotism, such as even Rome herself never 
rivalled. 

That courage which is self-sacrificing, that heroism which 
does not wait till bullets whistle overhead, that patriotism 
which is nerved to gallant deeds by the thought of home 
and loved ones, was often shown by our brave defenders, 
even before they started for the field of blood. The follow- 
ing story, said to be authentic, and which is, after all, but a 
type of many similar affecting scenes, ilhistrates the above 
assertion : — 

" A whole family, mother and five children, led by their 
stalwart head, the husband and father, presented themselves 
a few days since to Chairman Blunt, in New York, for the six- 
hundred-dollars' bounty ; he, the husband, having just been 
examined and mustered in. It was a large family, and a 
sorrowful one, — all except the little tow-headed fellow in its 
mother's arms, who was leaping and croT\dng as though he 
really thought it was excellent fun, a capital joke. The family 

* T. Buchanan Read. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 53 

appeared like a respectable one, though the hand of poverty 
eWdently rested heavily upon it ; and this, most likely, was 
the last resort, the last hope, the throwing of one overboard 
to save the rest. 

"As Mr. Blunt counted the money, — one, two, three, four, 
five, six hundred dollars, — and presented it, a kind of sickly, 
faint smile was visible through the unbidden tears which 
were coursing down his cheeks ; for his time, he knew, with 
his- family, its joys and hopes, was now about up. His 
children were clinging to his legs, begging him not to leave 
them : his wife, too full to speak, looked unutterable griefs, 
and clung all the closer to her babe. The money was all 
right : he held it in his hand, — more than he had owned at 
once during all his lifetime. 'God bless you, wife and 
children ! we must now part, ptjrhaps forever. This money, 
T\dfe, is yours : but let me give some to each ; it will gratify 
me, and will go to you whenever you want it. Here, wife, 
is one hundred dollars for you : may Heaven bless it and 
you ! Here, Billy, is one hundred dollars for you : be good 
and true to your mother, and, as you are the oldest, watch 
faithfully over your brothers and sisters. James, here is 
one hundred dollai-s for you : give it to your mother when- 
ever she wants it. Mary, take this hundred dollars: be 
a good girl, and in your prayers remember your father. 
Come here, my pet Alice : here is one hundred dollars for 
yon to keep until good mamma requires it. And now, my 
little toad without a name, — yes, let ns call him Hope. Do 
you say so, Avife?' It was assented to. ' Then here, you 
little crowing cock, — bless the little fellow ! — I may never 



64 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL AND PRISON, 

see him again. Kiss me, boy ! Here, put this hundred 
dollars in your little hand ; and don't eat it, but pass it over 
to your mother as soon as possible.' 

" The noble-hearted fellow's heavy frame seemed to quiver 
all over as he finished his distribution, and knew that his 
time had come. He embraced each and all separately, and 
declared himself ready to go. 

" ' But,' says Mr. Blunt, ' there is another hundred dol- 
lars coming to you, — the hand-money. Who brought you 
here ? ' — ' That wee bit of a babe, your honor : I'd never 
come in the world had it not been for that dear babe.' 
'Well, then, the hand-money or premium belongs to him.' 
' Bless me ! is it so ? Wife, put that hundred dollars into the 
savings bank for Hope, and never touch it, if you can help 
it, — if you can help it, mind, — until he comes of age. God 
bless the little fellow ! He starts well in the world, after 
all, and may yet be President.* 

" The man stepped upon the platform of the turn-stile, 
and was whirled in, out of sight of the world and all he loved. 
The whole scene Avas a most touching one, — one of true 
family affection, and long to be remembered by all who 
witnessed it." 

Such scenes often occurred ; and though some may have 
joined the army just to obtain the bounty-money, yet 
where poverty, or even avarice, drove one man to enlist, un- 
alloyed patriotism induced ten to put on the " army blue." 
Men thought of their little ones, and enlisted, sometimes, it 
is true, in order to procure the means of supporting them ; 
but, when they fought, it was for the rights of those children, 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 55 

which were clearer than all. That they fought bravely, all 
who read aright the records of each terrible conflict know 
full well. Some "chronicles of the fight" are subjoined, 
which give evidence of courage and patriotic enthusiasni. 

Massachusetts Bravery. — A correspondent of the 
"New-York Tribune" gives the following statistics and 
anecdote in evidence of the bravery of Massachusetts 
troops in battle : — 

"Hooker's division, as was expected of them, * fought 
like brave men, long and well, and heaped the ground with 
rebel slain.' This drvision is known here as the fighting 
division ; and, as an evidence of their work, it may be proper 
to state that they came on to the Peninsula eleven thousand 
strong, and now number less than five thousand effective 
men. Among the regiments of this division which suffered 
most severely were the Massachusetts First, Eleventh, and 
Sixteenth. Of the latter regiment, about eighty were either 
killed or seriously wounded. 

" A little incident will show the spirit of the Massachu- 
setts Sixteenth. When the Massachusetts First were ordered 
to charge, the men of the Sixteenth, addressing the colonel 
of the First, said, ' May we not charge with you ? You are 
not strong enough to charge that solid column of rebels 
alone. We have no officers left. Our colonel is dead, and 
our lieutenant-colonel and adjutant wounded. So, if you 
-will lead us, we would like to charge with you.' They did 
charge, with an effect that the rebels will be likely to re- 
member for some time. I would say more about the 



66 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

splendid fighting of the Massachusetts troops on this occa- 
sion, only for the fact that the Old Bay State has a history 
which the world knows by heart ; and to tell our readers 
that Massachusetts soldiers are brave, and that they do their 
duty, is to tell them what they instinctively know. * God 
bless the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ! ' " 

Incidents of the Fight at Ball's Bluff. — Mr. P. 
H. Hildreth, of Groton, communicates to the "Worcester 
Spy" some interesting incidents of the battle of Ball's 
Bluff, narrated to him at Poolesville by the soldiers, after 
that disastrous struggle. One little Irishman of Company I, 
belonging in Webster, got six bullet-holes through his coat, 
but not a scratch on his body. He said he didn't mind the 
danger^ but they were shabby rascals to spoil his coat ; said 
he should wear it, however, while a rag of it remained. 
'Tis a coat of honor to him. Another incident was as 
follows : — 

" One of the privates of Company H had a ball shot 
through both legs, without, however, injuring the bone. He 
still kept his place in the ranks, loading and firing wherever 
he could see a rebel, until another wound in the thigh pros- 
trated him. His comrades were about to bear him from the 
field ; when he came sufficiently near to request them to prop 
him up against a tree, where he did his duty nobly ^ with his 
three wounds in front, until another shot struck him in the 
leg, just below the knee, burying itself in the bone. This 
last was too much for him to stand up under ; and he allowed 
himself to be carried from the field, saying, as he went, to 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 57 

his comrades, ' Give 'em Jessie, boys : I'll be back and help 
you soon.' He was very low when I left, and I fear he is 
dead before this ; but, if so, his wife and family, while they 
mourn his loss, may, and I trust will, glory in his fame. A 
grateful country should remember them substantially." 

An officer of Company A, who was in the hospital, when 
he learned that a detachment of the Fifteenth was ordered 
across the river, insisted on joining them, declaring to his 
attendants, who tried to dissuade him, that the thought of a 
fight with the rebels would give him strength. He went, 
fought through the day : and the men said the fight seemed 
to suit him. P. Jorgeson, orderly-sergeant of the same 
company, saw a rebel aim at him while loading, and hurried 
to get the first shot ; but the rebel was too quick. The bul- 
let of the rebel cut a hole in Jorgeson's tin plate, which was 
swung under his arm ; when he exclaimed in broken Eng- 
lish, " Ah ! you fire well, you spoil Uncle Sam's crockery, 
— I pay you for dat," — drew up his gun, shot him through 
the breast, and dropped him. Just as he fired, another rebel 
sighted him, and shot him through the arm. This is the 
third wound he has received in his third war, — once in 
Germany, once in Mexico, and now at Ball's Bluiff. 

Charles B. Pratt, Esq., was despatched by Mayor Davis, 
of Worcester, to the scene of action, with instructions to 
offer the Massachusetts Fifteenth Regiment, in behalf of the 
city, any assistance or succor they might require. The duty 
was promptly performed ; and Mr. Pratt returned with this 
message : " Tell our friends at home that we want immedi- 
ately three hundred and ten men to fill the places of those 



68 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

killed and missing, and a blanket and pair of mittens for 
each of us. This is all we ask of them for the present." 

Massachusetts was not alone in her deeds of valor ; 
though, from a Massachusetts writer, she may possibly have 
her full share of praise in a volume devoted to incidents of 
the war. 

The green sods of Missouri cover the remains of a gallant 
Iowa volunteer, whose fame belongs to both New England 
and the West ; for he was born in Massachusetts.* 

AYhile taking dinner at a farm-house in Kirksville, Mo., 
within two miles of the enemy's camp, the little band of 
only six members of Company C was surrounded by rebels, 
twenty-five in number, who demanded a surrender. 

" The Iowa Third never surrenders ! " replied the daunt- 
less young leader, and ordered his men to fire. A severe 
conflict commenced, which continued for some time. Young 
Dix, finding it difficult to get a shot at his country's foes, who 
skulked behind fences and trees, left the house with two of 
his men. Sergeant Still and Private Schoonover, and en- 
gaged them with his revolver, with which he was a crack 
shot ; but the contest was too unequal. He shot down 
three of the rebels, and wounded another, when he was him- 
self shot by one of the besiegers : the ball passed through 
his head, killing him instantly. The rebels then fled, leaving 
six of their number killed, and a seventh mortally wounded. 
Five others were wounded, but succeeded in getting oflT. 

* Lieut. Hervey Dix, only brotlier of the late editor of the *« Boston 
Journal,"— James A. Dix, Esq. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 59 

On the next day, Lieut. Crawford of the Iowa regiment, 
with a detachment, visited the scene of this conflict. The 
wounded rebel had been taken into the farm-house, 
where he was just dying : with his last breath, he paid 
a striking tribute to the memory of his conqueror. 
"Lieut. Dix," said the dying man, " was the bravest, 
man I ever saw : if the North has many such, we had 
better give up." 

The body of the young and gallant Dix was tenderly pre- 
pared for the grave by a noble-hearted Western lady, and 
interred in the village cemetery, where an appropriate stone 
is erected to his memory. 

Surprise is often expressed that even mere youths exhibit 
great fearlessness in battle. 

The story of the drummer-boy of Marblehead is a case 
in point. Rev. Mr. Thayer thus narrates it : — 

" The name of the drummer-boy was Albert Manson. 
He had a great desire to do something for his country ; and 
he thought he could drum for it if he could not fight for it. 
His father consented that he might go as drummer ; and 
afterward the father himself concluded that he would enlist 
in order to look after his son. 

'' The father fell wounded in that bold and violent assault 
upon the enemy's works by the Twenty-third Massachusetts. 
The son was at his side at the time, using a musket that he 
had picked up ; and he was so intent upon conquering the 
foe, that he scarcely heeded his father's fall. 

" 'Look at that child ! ' exclaimed one officer to another. 
*• No wonder we conquer, when boys fight so ! ' 



60 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

'"Didn't I say that they should run to the old tunes?* 
shouted the boy as the enemy fled ; at the same time seizing 
a disabled revolver for a drum-stick, and striking up in a 
defiant way the old strain of ' Yankee Doodle/ 

" A rebel heard it, and, turning round, took sure aim at 
Albert. A soldier by the young patriot's side tried to pull 
him down : but he stood his ground, beating the tune ; and 
the fatal ball struck him. • 

" Col. Kurtz lifted the dying lad in his arms. He spoke 
to him, and the boy's lips moved in reply, 

"'What, Albert?' 

"'Which beat? — quick, tell me !' said the little hero. 

" Tears ran like rain down the blackened faces ; and 
one in a husky voice replied, — 

" 'We, Albert : the field is ours ! * 

"His ear caught the sound ; but he did not quite under- 
stand, dying as he was. 

" ' What ? — tell quick ! ' he whispered. 

" ' We beat 'em entirely, me boy ! ' answered a big Irish 
sergeant, who was crying like a baby. 

" He understood these words, and in a stronger voice 
than ever said, 'Why don't you go after 'em? Don't 
mind me : I'll catch up. I'm a little cold ; but running will 
warm me.' 

" He never spoke again. His young spirit passed away 
without a struggle ; and many soldiers wept that their brave 
drummer-boy was no more." 

A writer in the "Louisville Journal" thus graphically 
describes his enaotiqiis during a sanguinary struggle ; — 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 61 

" I remember well my feelings during the first battle in 
which I was engaged. The night before, we received or- 
ders to prepare to attack the enemy early on the morrow. 
All was now bustle, hurry, and anxiety. Guns were cleaned, 
ammunition inspected, straps adjusted, canteens filled, knap- 
sacks lightened, letters written. We had several in our 
company who had always boasted of their bravery and 
prowess ; men who had been ' spoiling for a fight,' as they 
said. These were now as still as mice : they didn't peep. 
One of them, who had taken a master's degree in all kinds 
of profanity, now borrowed a Bible, sat down and read it for 
some time, and intimated to his messmate the propriety of 
praying before going to sleep that night. It is not yotir 
blustering, profane bravado that is the brave man on the 
field of battle : it is your quiet, patient, retiring man. 

*' I confess, a feeling of dread and anxiety stole over me. 
Battle was certain, the enemy was strongly posted, and we 
had desperate work before us. I wanted to go into battle ; 
yet I dreaded it like death. I slept but little that night. 
The morning came ; and our columns moved quietly and 
sternly forward through a wood. The first intimation wo 
had of the enemy was the skirmishing between his outposts 
and our vanguard ; the former falling back as the latter ad- 
vanced. We passed out of the wood, and rapidly deployed 
into line of battle ; a gentle sloping hill hiding the enemy 
from our view. A part of our force had been sent round 
to make a flank and rear attack on the enemy ; and, while 
so doing, it was of the utmost importance that we should 
hold his attention in front. We marched steadily up the 



62 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

liill till the whole line of the enemy burst upon our view : 
there we halted, and for some minutes not a gun was fired 
on either side. There stood the two armies, each waiting 
for the other to begin the work of death. The faces of our 
men looked pale and determined : some of them stood like 
statues, others were nervous and uneasy. It was the time 
to test their courage. A line of cannon was bearing directly 
upon us. Death to many of us was certain. ' Who will it 
be? ' thought I. A singular feeling came over me : a con- 
fused image of a mother and sister appeared flitting and 
floating before my imagination like dissolving shadows, 
while the tremendous reality in front oppressed me with 
dreadful forebodings. 

"A few moments passed like those that intervene between 
drawing the cap over the criminal's face and letting fall 
the drop, when a puff of smoke from one of the cannon, 
followed by a crash and a bomb, went screaming over us. 
Our men ducked down their heads like geese. Fire was 
now opened on us along the enemy's entire line. Their first 
shots were aimed too high : they gradually lowered them. 
Every discharge brought their balls fearfully nearer. We 
were impatient to return the fire, but dare not till the com- 
mand was given. Our colonel passed along in front of the 
line, and urged us to stand firm till the proper time, and 
the day would be ours. It is a task to hold men exposed to 
an enemy's fire without allowing them to return it. They 
will soon run one way or the other. The enemy's shot 
now began to howl around us, plough through our ranks, and 
tear up the earth about our feet. A six-pound ball cut off 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 63 

the bayonet of my messmate on my left : a moment more, 
and one struck him in the breast, severing him almost in 
twain. He reeled, and fell like a log. The hot blood from 
his heart spurted full in my face. Great God, how I felt ! 
A faint, sickening sensation came over me. I stooped down 
over him. He smiled faintly, spoke my name, gasped, and 
expired. He was frightfully mangled. I was maddened to 
desperation. All thought of fear vanished : I could have 
fought thousands. The command ' Fire ! ' rang along the line ; 
and a tremendous crash of musketry answered the command. 
We now loaded and fired for life. Dense volumes of sul- 
phurous smoke hung like a pall over us, and shut out 
the enemy from our sight. The battle grew warm and 
bloody. The rattle of musketry, the screaming of shells, 
the thunders of the artillery, the whistling of bullets, the 
shouts of command, commingled wdth curses, prayers, and 
groans of the wounded and dying, filled all the air. Our 
men, black with smoke and powder, looked like devils in- 
carnate, as they plied their work of death. 

"At length a breeze rolled away the smoke that shrouded 
us, and disclosed our other columns bearing down upon the 
enemy's flank. Now was the decisive moment. ' Charge 
bayonets ! ' rang out ; and wdth loud shouts we rushed for- 
ward to the assault. A storm of grape and canister was 
hurled against us as we neared the batteries. Like mad- 
dened tigers, our men leaped forward with the cold steel. 
The struggle over the guns was desperate : it was a butchery 
savage in the extreme. The enemy soon broke and fled, 
leaving us masters of the field. Since that time, I have not 



64 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

felt the least dread or hesitation on entering a battle. After 
the first few shots, I fire away as coolly as when hunting 
squirrels." 

In battle-time, the effect of a stirring song or tune is 
often electrical. The Western armies have one of this char- 
acter, called " The Battle-cry of Freedom," which is de- 
scribed as of most potent effect : — 

"In either Grant's or Rosecrans's army, it only needs to 
be started to be caught up from camp to camp, till it spreads 
for miles over the whole army. By order of a general 
commanding one division of the Army of the Cumberland, 
the colonel of each regiment is directed to start the ' Battle 
Cry' whenever the army goes into action ; and the effect of 
thousands of voices united upon the chorus, — 

* The Union forever ! Hurrah, boys ! hurrah ! 
Down with the traitor ! up with the stars ! 
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, 
Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ! ' — 

is described as awakening a frenzied enthusiasm perfectly 
indescribable. 

" It is evident from its effect that this is one of the few 
songs not written ' to order,' but written because the author 
could not help it. The great number of thrilling circum- 
stances under which this song has been sung in the army 
added to its popularity. When Gen. Blair's brigade, that 
led the assault upon Vicksburg last ftill, after being hurled 
again and again upon the enemy's fortifications, only to see 
each time a ghastly proportion of their numbers go down in 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 65 

death, were at last ordered to retire, the brave fellows closed 
up their shattered battalions, and came out of the smoke of 
that terrible carnage, singing, — 

* Yes, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again. 
Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ! ' 

"We are not surprised that the remembrance of that scene 
drew tears from the officer who described it to us ; and 
when, after months of hardship, assault, and battle, these 
same troops ran up the stars and stripes over this same rebel 
stronghold, Gen. McPherson and staff, on the cupola of the 
court-house, fittingly started the same song ; and we can 
imagine with what a will it was sung by Grant's entire 
army." 

Here is a glorious record concerning one of our adopted 
citizens, which may go to the credit of Pennsylvania : — 

A Brave Stand ard-Bearer. — A correspondent, giving 
an account of the battle at Winchester, says, "Among 
the acts of chivalry performed on the field was one by Pri- 
vate Graham, of the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania. He car- 
ried the regimental standard : the left hand, which held it, 
was shot off; but, before the star-spangled banner fell to the 
ground, he grasped it in the remaining hand, and held it 
triumphantly. The right arm was next disabled ; but, be- 
fore the colors fell, he was killed by a third ball. He was 
a native of the Emerald Isle." 

The following anecdote gives proof of a patriotism which 
many waters cannot quench ; — 
6 



66 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

"One Leg more for his Country. — During the re- 
cent visit of Secretary Cameron to Kew York, a member 
of the Seventy-ninth Regiment, who was in the battle of 
Bull Run, and near Col. Cameron when he fell, called upon 
the secretary. He had been severely wounded and taken 
prisoner, carried to Richmond, and there suffered an ampu- 
tation of one of his legs. He came hobbling into the sec- 
retary's room on crutches, and begged to be permitted to go 
to the war again, saying that he thought he could still be of 
service to the country, even on crutches. Mr. Cameron did 
not question his capacity, but told him the first preliminary 
was to get a mate to his remaining extremity. The man 
said he couldn't afford that luxury, and insisted upon the 
validity of crutches. Mr. Cameron then told him to go to a 
limb-seller's, and buy the best leg he could find, and send the 
bill to him. The wounded soldier went on his way rejoi- 



Read this patriotic answer. Loyal hearts, far and near, 
respond to it. 

When Col. Ripley stepped ashore from the "Persia" at 
New York, a gentleman said to him, " Your country needs 
you." — "It can have me," responded the gallant soldier, 
" and every drop of blood in me." 

Here is an instance which should go to the credit of Cali- 
fornia as well as New England ; for the Eldorado country is 
full of just such emigi-ants from the Atlantic shores : — 

" Unalloyed Patriotism. — A case of unselfish and per- 
severing patriotism has come to our notice, which we think 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELB. 67 

deserving of public record. Mr. Harvey G. Smith of Bos- 
ton, who for the last eleven years has been engaged in 
mining-business at Downieville, Sierra County, Cal., in No- 
vember last arranged his business so that it could be left 
in the care of an agent, in order that he might enter upon 
the service of his country, and contribute his mite towards 
putting down the Rebellion. Having been for many years a 
sailor, he proposed to enter the naval service ; and, repairing 
to Washington, he made application for an appointment as 
sailing-master or master's mate ; but, notwithstanding his ap- 
plication was indorsed by the Congress-men from California, 
it was unsuccessful. 

" Mr. Smith then applied to Gov. Andrew for a commission 
of some sort, but got none. Determined to serve his country 
in some capacity, he enlisted as a private in the Twenty- 
ninth Massachusetts Regiment, Col. Pierce. A man who 
will relinquish his business, and travel three or four thou- 
sand miles at his own expense for the purpose of fight- 
ing the enemies of his country, is certainly entitled to hon- 
orable mention, if not to a commission. Such devoted pa- 
triotism is remarkable even in these days, when bright 
examples of self-sacrifice are numerous." * 

Plere are a couple of newspaper paragraphs which match 
each other, and speak well for both East and West. The 
first is from the " South-Danvers Wizard : " — 

" RocKViLLE, All Hail ! — There is a small village of 
this town, bordering on Lynn and Lynnfield, comprising a 

* Boston Journal. 



68 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND P BISON. 

single school district, aucl with less than a himclrecl voters, 
which has sent seventy-five men to the war ! We have not 
yet heard of the community which lias sent such a propor- 
tion of its members. None but the old and infirm are left 
behind. One family named Woodman sends five, being all 
its male members. One of the last men who enlisted went 
to Lieut. Warner at Salem yesterday, and begged to be en- 
rolled, as he said he couldn't find a loafer to talk with in all 
Rockville ! 

" Mrs. Sarah Larrabee, of Rockville, has now four sons, sev~ 
enteen grandsons, and one great-grandson, in the army. The 
old lady of eighty-five years yesterday walked to Salem to 
see the last of them depart for the battle-field, and then 
walked back, about six miles." 

The second paragraph is from the pen of Rev. A. V. 
House, in " The Home Missionary : " — 

" Iowa : Western Patriotism. — I have jnst returned 
from the meeting of our association ; and perhaps some of 
the particulars of my journey may not be wholly uninterest- 
ing to you. To give you an idea of the patriotism of the 
Western people in these times of war, I will mention that I 
met more ivomen driving teams on the road, and saw more 
of them at work in the fields, than men. They seem to have 
said to their husbands, in the language of a favorite song, — 

* Just take your gun, and go ; 
For Ruth can drive the oxen, John, 
And I can use the hoe.' 

" I first went to Clarinda, and the town seemed deserted. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 69 

Upon inquiriug for former friends, the frequent answer was, 
' In the army.' From Hawley\ulle, almost all the thorough- 
ly loyal male inhabitants have gone ; and in one town- 
ship beyond, where I formerly preached, there are but seven 
men left ; and at Quincy, the county seat of Adams County, 
but five." 

Some of our brave boys met "with narrow escapes in 
battle. 

" Sergeant Charles H. Frye, of Salem, Company F, 
Twenty-first Regiment, son of Mr. James S. Frye, had a very 
curious and narrow escape from death at the battle of 
Fredericksburg, which will bear relating. A fragment of 
shell descended in such a way as to graze his leg from the 
hip downward, cutting through his pocket, and completely 
riddling a woollen mitten which was rolled up therein. 
The mitten is perforated in six or eight places, and the 
pocket itself, of course, cut through. The wound on the 
leg was sufficiently severe to detain him in the hospital at 
Washington till the present time. The fragment of shell 
and the mitten were sent home to gratify the curiosity of his 
friends. A companion of Mr. Frye, while assisting him to 
the rear, was struck by a cannon-ball, and instantly killed." * 

The following went the rounds of the press as exhibiting 
the pluck of a Union soldier. In a speech before the Balti- 
more Union League, Jos. J. Stewart, of Baltimore County, 
related the following : — 

*' The fire which animates the Union soldiers is well illus- 

* Salem Observer. 



70 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

tratcd by the anecdote related by a chaplain of the army. 
He says he has regarded it as a part of his Christian duty 
to attend the dying rebels as well as the Union soldiers ; and 
that, while he has frequently heard rebel soldiers express re- 
gret in their last moments for having taken up arms against 
the good old flag, he has never known a Unionist express 
doubt or regret for the cause in which he was engaged. One 
day, the battle raged fiercely : all round him were evidences 
of awful havoc. A Union soldier was fighting bravely after 
most of his companions had been shot doAvn. The chaplain 
watched him. He saw a cannon-ball strike the soldier's 
left arm, and sever it between the shoulder and elbow. The 
concussion turned the soldier completely round, his arm fall- 
in"- at the distance of ten feet or more from where he stood. 
The chaplain still watched him, unconsciously to the sol- 
dier, who did not know that he was regarded at that mo- 
ment by any other than the all-seeing Eye. The soldier 
looked at his left side, and beheld his bleeding stump ; then, 
turning around, he commenced searching for his dissevered 
arm. He picked it up, and held it for a moment in its 
place : he then held it aloft in his right hand, and exultantly 
exclaiming, ' This is my sacrifice for the Union ! ' he hurled 
it with all his might at the retreating foe." 

The " Newburyport Herald " furnishes the following 
bright record of a Harvard boy : — 

"Among the wounded soldiers of Williamsburg, returned 
home for nursing, is Lieut. G. P. Stevens of the First Excel- 
sior Regiment, Hooker's division. He has been at the house 
of his father, Judge Stevens of Lawrence, for some weeks, 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 71 

severely wounded by a bullet through the thigh. He entered 
the service six months since, while a member of the junior 
class of Harvard ; and the sword he has so nobly carried 
was presented by his classmates. He had been wounded 
prior to the battle of "Williamsburg by the accidental dis- 
charge of his revolver sending a ball into his foot, which has 
not yet been extracted. When the cry, ' Forward ! ' went 
up from Yorktown, he was in his place, but, on account of 
his wound, was detailed to look after the baggage, and come 
on with the trains ; but, hearing that a battle was in prospect, 
he pressed forward eighteen miles on foot through mud 
and rain, arriving in the midst of the terrific conflict, and 
sought his regiment, which was at the extreme right. There 
they fought the enemy at fearful odds, and were outflanked, 
their colonel wounded and taken prisoner, and a large num- 
ber of their officers and men either killed or wounded. Sev- 
eral bullets passed through young Stevens's clothes, and one 
through his thigh ; but still he was able to retreat after forty 
rounds of ammunition had been exhausted, and assisted in 
forming the men, with empty muskets and fixed bayonets, 
around the cannon in the woods. Bleeding and exhausted, 
he still labored and fought ; and, having searched the car- 
tridge-boxes of the dead in vain, there was no alternative 
but to stand the leaden hail with fixed bayonets, till 
re-enforcements arrived, and victory was won. Then he 
was carried to the rear, and is now safe at home, though 
anxious and determined to return as soon as his wound 
permits." 

With emotions of pride that our country can point to such 



72 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

young men, — heroes, though but beardless boys, — the fol- 
lowing testimonial is subjoined : — 

One of our Braves. — The "Worcester Spy" has a 
touching tribute, from the pen of Henry S. Washburn, to 
the memory of Lieut. J. William Grout, who was killed at 
Ball's Bluff. This young and promising officer was only 
eighteen years old. He was the son of wealthy parents, and 
early evinced a fondness for military pursuits. When war 
was declared, he expressed a wish at once to enter the army ; 
but his parents withheld their consent, chiefly on account of 
his youth. When, however, they yielded to his importuni- 
ties, his joy knew no bounds ; and, with all the ardor of his 
nature, he engaged in the work of preparation for his new 
calling. He had received a military education at the High- 
land Institute, and obtained a commission as second lieuten- 
ant in Company D, of the Massachusetts Fifteenth, — an 
honor rarely bestowed upon so young a person. Of his 
services at Ball's Bluff, the following account is given : — 

" He was there, and nobly did he discharge his duty. It 
was observed that he displayed great coolness and bravery ; 
and, in one instance at least, his right arm did signal exe- 
cution. When all hope had fled, and the day was evidently 
lost, and the order to retreat given, he knew th'at he and his 
associates had done all that men could do, and that Massa- 
chusetts had reason to be proud of the conduct of her sons 
on that dreadful field of blood and carnage. Alas that 
even then his work was done, and his warfare finished ! 

" He had gained the middle of the stream, and would 
soon have reached the opposite bank, when a fatal shot 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 73 

pierced him ; and he exclaimed, ' Tell Company D I 
could have reached the shore, but I am shot ; I must 
sink ! ' and, as the waters closed over him, the spirit took 
its flight to be forever free from the throes and conflicts of 
the earth. 

"When his death was announced, Col. Dcvens remarked, 
with deep emotion, ' Dear little fellow ! he came to me at 
the close of the battle, and said, ' Colonel, is there any thing 
more that I can do for you ? ' I replied, ' Nothing but take 
care of yourself.' Similar testimony to his bravery and 
fidelity has been received from numerous sources." 

Mr. Washburn concludes his touching tribute to the 
memory of his young friend with the following striking 
and eloquent remarks : — 

" The records of that sad conflict at Ball's Bluff tell the 
story of the fall of one of the oldest and one of the young- 
est officers of the Union forces, — one high in political 
position, and the pride of our Western domain (let the tear 
of charity forever erase the remembrance of his mistakes, 
if any he made ; for he was a peerless man, and a tower of 
strength to the nation) ; the other a fitting representative 
of the unconquerable pluck and the chivalrous daring of the 
young men of the oldest Commonwealth in the Union. Thus 
were united, upon tlie same altar of patriotism and love of 
country, the Atlantic and the Pacific, — the blossoms of 
youth and the frosts of age ! Oh ! who, in view of such 
pledges and such consecrations, can despair, whatever may 
be the reverses of the moment, of the final triumph of the 
Republic?" 



74 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Not only were deeds of noble daring frequent upon the 
battle-fields of our beloved land in the late contest for 
liberty and righteousness, but there were not a few scenes 
exhibiting family affection and the tender ties of friendship, 
upon which even angels must have looked with admiring 
interest. Here is one of them : — 

Father and Son on the Battle-Field. — A story is 
told of the veteran Sumner at the battle of Antietam. His 
son, Capt. Sumner, a youth of twenty-one, was on his staff. 
The old man calmly stood amidst a storm of shot and shells, 
and turned to send him through a doubly-raging fire upon a 
mission of duty. He might never see his boy again : but his 
country claimed his life ; and, as he looked upon his young 
brow, he grasped his hand, encircled him in his arms, 
and fondly kissed him. " Good-by, Sammy ! " — " Good-Jby, 
father ! " and the youth, mounting his horse, rode gayly on 
the message. He returned unharmed ; and again his hand 
was grasped with a cordial ''How d'ye do, Sammy?" 
answered by a grasp of equal affection. The scene was 
touching to those around. 

A Boston paper thus refers to the 

Death of a Hero. — Rev. J. F. Mines, chaplain of 
the Second Maine Regiment, now a prisoner at Richmond, 
in a letter to a friend in Bangor, gives the following account 
of the death of "William J. Deane, son of Col. B. S. Deane 
of that city, who was standard-bearer of the Second at the 
battle of Bull Run : — 

" Tell Mr. Deane, the father of William Deane, color- 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 75 

bearer of the Second Maine, who fell in the battle of the 
21st, that his son died like a hero. Though sorely wounded, 
so that he could scarcely whisper, he beckoned me to him ; 
and when I knelt beside him, and put my ear close to his 
mouth, he hoarsely whispered, ' It's safe.' — ' AVhat,' said I, 
— ' what? the flag? ' He nodded his head, for he could not 
speak again, and then closed his eyes. I bathed his head 
with water, and tried to comfort him ; but my own heart 
Avas full, and I could not speak for tears. That man was a 
hero. His father may Aveep bitterly for his loss ; but let 
him thank God for his glorious death." 

A Belfast (Me.) paper thus speaks of 

"A Patriotic Family. — A Father and Six Sons in the 
Army. — Mr. James McKinney, of Enfield, in this State, 
aged fifty-four years, and his six sons, — seven in all, — have 
enlisted in the service of the country. One son has died 
in the hospital, and one has returned home sick. The 
father and two sons enlisted in the Sixth Maine, two sons 
in the Seventh Maine, one son in the Tenth, and one in the 
Eleventh. There was still one remaining son, who was pre- 
vented from enlisting in consequence of having lost some of 
his fingers. He was so anxious to go, that he Avanted his 
father and brothers to get him a situation as a teamster ; but 
they declined, urging that he ought to stay at home and 
take care of the old castle." 

Some one truthfully remarks, — 

" There are strange scenes in Avar, mingling the sublime, 



76 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the horrible, the fraternal, social, touching. A young 
Massachusetts volunteer in the battle of Antietam was 
mortally wounded by a rifle-ball in the abdomen, and fell 
backward ; his lower limbs being entirely paralyzed by the 
wound. He was, to all appearance, helpless ; yet he aided in 
the fight. Having fallen almost at the beginning of the 
action, his cartridge-box was nearly full. Having excellent 
teeth, he handled and tore the cailridges from his box till it 
was empty, rapidly passing them to his comrades who stood 
over him ; and then, as they found he aided their speed in 
firing, they took the cartridges from their boxes, and he tore 
them till their ammunition was expended, when they bore 
him to the quiet bed of death ; he being all the time as 
calm, deliberate, and earnest as those who remained un- 
hurt." 

Prof. Hackett gives in his " Memorials of the War" the 
following story of an Indiana hero boy, prepared from the 
" Cincinnati Gazette : " — 

" On the cars running from Evansrille to Indianapolis, I 
fell into conversation with a soldier, who, though young in 
years, carried, as I found, the heart of a man and a hero in 
his bosom : he was returning home on a discharge furlough. 
Having found others destitute, I inquired into his condition. 
He had started without breakfast ; had neither food nor 
money to go to Elkhart, on the Southern Michigan Road, a 
distance of over three hundred miles, and with the proba- 
bility before him of being over two days on the way. His 
voice was gone, and he was obliged to talk in a whisper. 
On seeing what the prospect before him was, he said to me, 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD, 77 

with childish simplicity, ' I shall be nearly starved when I 
reach home ; shall I not ? ' I inquired for his haversack in 
order to supply him with something to eat when we stopped. 
He replied that ' it had been stolen from him ; ' yet he was 
indifferent about the haversack : it was the Bible contained 
in it that he felt to be the great loss to him. His parents 
were religious, as I learned, and had brought him up to 
habits of rectitude, and in the fear of God. 

"He had an impression that he should not live long ; and 
I remarked to him, ' Death is no calamity to a good boy.* 
His countenance brightened as I said that to him ; and he an- 
swered with much earnestness, ^No, sir ; and I am not afraid 
to die. I made up my mind that it was my duty to go and 
fight for my country, and my parents consented. Through 
exposure, I lost my health early in the winter ; and, on the 
Sunday morning of the battle of Shiloh, I was in my tent 
sick, and the physician ordered me to remain there. I had 
been unfit for duty for two months. The physician was very 
kind to me. The news kept coming back to us near the 
river, that our army was giving way everywhere ; and I 
thought it my duty to take my gun, and go to their assistance. 
I went to the front, and, during four hours, loaded and fired 
as fast as I could ; but the exertion was too much for me. 
My lungs took to bleeding, and I came near dying before 
the bleeding could be stopped ; but I was glad I did what 
I could. I have never spoken since above a whisper, and I 
fear I never shall ; but it is all right ! Our country must be 
saved at any sacrifice.* At the first eating station, the boy 
was seated at the table, and his dinner paid for by a stran- 



78 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

ger ; and liis thanks were so cordial and heartfelt, that tears 
filled the stranger's eyes as he turned away, receiving, as he 
did so, the sick boy's ' God bless you, stranger ! ' 

" Time for supper would bring him to Indianapolis. What 
would he do there ? Who would befriend him there ? He 
was told to go to Gov. Morton, and inform him that he was 
on his way home from Shiloh with ruined health, and had 
neither money nor food. He answered that he would do so, 
if he had strength to walk. He was then told to send him a 
line : any one would carry it for him. He said he would 
do so ; and added, ' It would not be improper ; surely the 
governor would not let me starve : it seems to me, almost 
anybody would help a sick soldier.' 

" When he aiTived at Elkhart, he would still be several 
miles from home. That occurred to him, and perplexed his 
thoughts for a moment ; and then, smiling, he said, ' Our 
family physician lives there, and he will take me in his car- 
riage and cany me home ; and oh ! does not a welcome await 
me when my mother sees me coming? I shall take her by 
surprise : she is not prepared for that.' Here the train started 
with the sick boy, who seemed revived by his food, and the 
words of encouragement spoken to him, and the thoughts of 
home." 

Another volunteer from the sturdy West has left a shining 
record : — 

" John Henry, of Indiana, is the name of one of the mar- 
tyr-heroes of the war. Although fifty-six years of age, he 
enlisted as a volunteer in the Seventy-eighth Indiana Regi- 
ment. He was not influenced by ambition, for he went as a 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM OX THE FIELD. 79 

private ; nor by love of money, for he was not destitute of 
means, and the soldier's stipend of thirteen dollars a month 
was little to him ; nor yet by patriotism alone, although he 
loved his country well enough to die for it. He Avas a teacher 
in the Sabbath school, and went from love to the members of 
his class, and from a sense of duty to his Lord and Master, 
who had committed them to his care. He said ' The great 
Shepherd will demand them at my hands : I wish to give a 
good account of my trust. I must care for the souls for 
whom he cared, and be able, if I can, to present them 
among the saved in the day wdien the throne shall be set 
and the books be opened.' So he enlisted. 

'^ He fell in a skirmish on Monday morning, at Union- 
town, Ky., mortally w^ounded. A ball passed through his 
face, inflicting a terrible wound. It entered just below the 
left cheek-bone, and so passed out. He was still able, after 
this, to make himself understood, and was full of joy in 
spite of the pains of death. On Sunday, the day before his 
end, he had spent the forenoon in a neighboring orchard in 
meditation and prayer. Toward noon, he had this thought 
impressed deeply upon him : ' Work to-day ; for the time is 
short ;' and he did work. He passed from tent to tent, pray- 
ing, praising, and exhorting, not only during the remainder 
of the day, but late into the night. 

" The next morning, he was among the first to fall ; and 
soon his mutilated tongue was silent in death. Among his 
last words were these : ' Oh ! I am happy ; for, when the 
Master came, he found me at my appointed work ! ' " * 

* Prof. Hackett's Memorials, &c. 



80 FIELD, GUy^BOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Our young braves suffered for dear liberty ; but they suf- 
fered willingly, and with unrivalled fortitude. 

" In a hospital, crowded with the wounded from the bloody 
field of Antietam, was a mutilated soldier, Charles Warren. 
fVom Massachusetts, one of whose limbs required amputa- 
tion. There was little hope of saving him ; but, as no other 
resource was left, it was thought advisable to make the at- 
touipt. The wound was such, that the operation could not 
be otherwise than painful in the extreme. A clergyman, 
Rev. Mr. Sloane, who had been useful to the young man in 
spiritual things, felt that he could not bear the sight of the 
inevitable suffering, and was about to leave the room ; ' but 
what was our surprise,' he says, ' as they placed him on the 
table beneath the surgeon's knife, to hear him singing, 
in a clear and cheerful voice, the familiar words, — 

* There'll be no more sorrow there : 
In heaven above, where all is love, 
There'll be no more sorrow there ! ' 

" I staid, assured that Charles was calm, trusting in God. 
The limb was taken off ; and he remained in a drowsy state 
for twenty-four hours, and then gently passed away. TVe 
buried him in a quiet spot, with appropriate services, and, 
as we left the grave, felt that we could think of him as in 
that heaven of which he so cheerfully sang." * 

" Not long ago," said Mr. Gough at a public meeting in 
Boston, " I was in a hospital, and saw a young man twenty- 

* Prof. Hackett's Memorials, &c. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 81 

six years of age, pale and emaciated, with his shattered arm 
resting upon an oiled-silk pillow ; and there he had been 
many long and weary weeks, waiting for sufficient strength 
for an amputation. I knelt by his side, and said, * Will 
you answer me one question ? ' 

" ' Yes, sir,' was his reply. 

" ' Suppose you were well, at home, in good health, and 
knew all this would come to you if you enlisted, would you 
enlist?' 

" ' Yes, sir,' he answered in a whisper : ' I would, in a 
minute ! What is my arm or my life compared with the 
safety of the country?'" 

That was patriotism, and the young soldier a hero ! 

Similar to the above is the testimony of Rev. Mr. Sav- 
age, agent tor the American Tract Society in the Western 
department : — 

" While I have conversed," he says, " with thousands of our 
wounded from the battle-fields of Lexington and Pea Ridge 
and Fort Donelson and Sliiloh and Corinth and luka, some- 
times on the field, sometimes on transports, sometimes in 
hospitals, I have never found the first wounded man yet that 
bus uttered a single word of complaint, or expressed a re- 
gret at having enlisted. It is most wonderful to me. I 
have seen them armless and legless, pierced through every 
part of the body, and upon the surgeon's bench undergoing 
amputation ; I have seen them dying, and heard them speak 
of wife and children and loved ones at home : but I have 
never heard a word of complaint or regret at having enlisted 
in the army." 

6 



82 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

They were patriots, ever faithful to the flag ; and not a 
few of them manifested the spirit which found utterance in 
the last words of the lamented Gen. James S. Rice, " Let 
me die with my face to the foe, boys." * 

As an example of the kindness of some of our soldiers 
to their wounded comrades, the following is given from the 
*' Sanitary-Commission Bulletin : " — 

" "While examining a fearful wound in a young soldier in 
one of the hospitals the other day, I was astonished at the 
rapid progress towards recovery, as well as at the patient's 
unusually vigorous condition, considering the nature of 
the wound, — a compound fracture in the upper third of the 
right thigh. The following statement which he gave me 
accounts for this man's good fortune : He was wounded 
while in the skirmish line the 3d of June, at Coal Harbor, 
Va. His comrades had him carefully conveyed to the rear ; 

* James G. Clark, the poet and composer, has written a stirring song 
suggested by these words, the last stanza of which is, — 

" Let me die with my face to the'field, boys, 
As the shot of the foeman found me : 
I crave no shroud or shield, boys, 
Save the old flag wrapped around me. 
Those stars shall gleam forever 
O'er land and sea and river. 
In Freedom's right and Freedom's light, 
O'er hearts that will never yield." 

Chorus. 
*' I hear the shout of the brave ring out 
Where the land's high hearts lie low : 
Then let me gaze through the cannon's blaze. 
And die with my face to the foe." 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 83 

and, as soon as permission could be obtained after the 
battle, eight of those comrades undertook the task of trans- 
porting him on a litter, borne upon their own shoulders, 
from Coal Harbor to Whitehouse, twenty-two miles by the 
road they travelled. Carefully they kept step as they went 
onward to the new base for the transports ; and, when they 
reached the hospital-boat in the Pamunkey River, the field 
litter and its precious burden were deposited Avithout having 
been jostled or the wounded parts injured. The physicians 
promised that the noble object of this tender care should be 
transported to the hospital- wharf at Washington, and from 
thence to some general hospital, without being disturbed 
from the carefully prepared bed upon which he had been 
brought from the battle-field. The pledge has been fulfilled : 
and if those afiectionate comrades live to reach Jefferson 
County, N.Y., again, there is reason to believe that they 
will find there the noble man who was borne upon their 
shoulders from Coal Harbor to Whitehouse." 

Volumes might be written, and yet all the incidents of in- 
terest occurring on the battle-field fail to be told. Eye-wit- 
nesses of such courage and patriotism have given many 
sketches of heroic conduct ; but only the pen of the record- 
ing angel could preserve them all, they were so numerous, so 
constantly recurring. This is not extravagant language. 
No words can ever utter our defenders' meed of praise. Only 
when the Judge of all the earth shall say to each patriot sol- 
dier, " Thou hast fought the good fight, henceforth is laid 
■up for thee a crown," and shall place that crown upon the 
radiant brow of those who were victors though they fell, 



84 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

will their dauntless valor and unfailing patriotism be fully 
appreciated. 

The picket-guard, pacing his lonely beat, should not be 
forgotten as we call to mind the deeds of daring on the bat- 
tle-field. It required no little courage to take one's stand, 
day after day, and night after night, when a bullet from a 
sharpshooter might at any moment end his earthly career. 
How many a thought of home and dear ones has crowded 
upon the mind of the lonely sentinel at such hours ! — his 
eyes bent upon discovering the danger, if lurking foes should 
reveal themselves ; his heart far away with the prattling 
children, or the anxious wife, longing for peace, it may be, 
yet willing and ready to stay at his post, or to die in his 
country's defence. 

It should be observed that truthful records of the gallant 
deeds of the Union army and navy do not mention the offi- 
cers alone. Excellent, brave, and judicious officers showed 
Avonderful executive ability, and Avon unfading laurels on 
many a battle-field ; but not the officers alone constituted our 
patriots. The rank and file won their full share of glory ; 
at least, they exhibited bravery and patriotism enough to de- 
serve it. One who could sneeringly say, as he read the name 
of a martyred hero, " It was only a private," stamped him- 
self contemptible beyond expression. Our privates were 
heroes. 

" See ! in the battle's fiery track 
Our torn flag falls ! — 'tis gone 1 
Who leaps to bring the colors back ? 
* Only a private ' born. 



COURAGE AND PATRIOTISM ON THE FIELD. 85 

A spirit 'mid the sulphurous air. 

Up from * the ranks ' he came ; 
A god-like form, with streaming hair. 

And an immortal name ! 

No record traced in Spartan blood 

Tells grander victory ; 
None with sublimer courage stood 

At dread Thermopylae." * 

Our " boys in blue " were worthy of their noble cause, 
whether they wore the uniform of privates or officers ; and 
impartial history will render due praise to the heroic cham- 
pions of a nation's rights, the noble advocates of liberty and 
law. 

* Dr. Arthur E. Jenks. 



86 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



CHAPTER III. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 

** Our country's flag is proudly flung 
"With all its stars on every breeze ; 
And Freedom's voice, with trumpet-tongue, 
Is sounding over land and seas." — G. W. Light. 

^^(^4^ HEN the war commenced in 1861, the entire 



ffl 



naval force available for the defence of the 
whole Atlantic coast consisted of the steamer 
'Brooklyn,' of twenty-five guns, and the storeship 'Relief,* 
of two guns. Ships, frigates, &c., belonging to the United 
States, and mounting in the aggregate eight hundred and 
seventy-four guns, were in existence ; but some of them 
were lying in port dismantled, and the rest were otherwise 
rendered unfit for service. The ' Brooklyn' was of too great 
draught to enter Charleston harbor with safety, except 
during the high spring-tides; and the 'Relief was under 
orders to proceed to Africa with stores for our squadron 
there. 

Including the ships, &c., of our navy abroad, the United 
States, according to the Navy Secretary's report, could boast 
of about two thousand four hundred and fifteen guns, and a 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 87 

complement, exclusive of officers and marines, of about 
seven thousand six hundred men. 

These somewhat dry details are mentioned in order to 
show the state of our navy when the South fired upon the 
" Star of the West" and Fort Sumter. These pages are 
not designed to be statistical particularly, nor yet largely 
historical, but to show, in the graphic language of eye- 
witnesses whose testimony is gathered from many and 
authentic sources, the exploits of the almost new navy of the 
United States while the Rebellion continued. Heavy and 
efficient blows did this arm of our defence give to the rebel 
cause ; and the soldiers and sailors of those memorable fcKir 
years of martial strife may clasp hands as brothers in 
honor. They struggled with equal bravery and success : 
both are entitled to wear the unwithering bays, and receive 
a rescued nation's gratitude. 

After the war commenced. Congress ordered an addition 
to the navy, and various gunboats and iron-clad steamers 
were added to our puny fleet. 

Among these floating batteries, as they have been termed, 
was one whose name is wreathed with immortal honor, and 
whose commander, Capt. A. H. Worden, received the per- 
sonal thanks of our martyred President, — the "Monitor.'* 
She was constructed by J. Ericsson, of New York ; and 
being peculiar in build, a rara avis in naval architecture, 
it may be proper to describe her more minutely. Miss Ed- 
monds says,* — 

" The first real object of interest which presented itself 

* Nurse and Spy, p. 67. 



88 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

was the ' Monitor,' lying oiF Fortress Monroe. It reminded 
me of what I once heard a man say to his neighbor about 
his wife. Said he, ' Neighbor, you might worship your wife 
without breaking either of the ten commandments.' — ' How 
is that?' asked the man. ' Because she is not the likeness 
of any thing in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in 
the waters under the earth.' So thought I of the ' Monitor.' 

" There she sat upon the water, a glorious impregnable 
battery, the wonder of the age, the terror of rebels, and the 
pride of the North. The 'Monitor' is so novel in structure, 
that a minute description will be necessary to come to an 
accurate idea of her character. 

" ' She has two hulls ; the lower one is of iron, five-eighths 
of an inch thick ; the bottom is flat, and six feet six inches 
in depth ; sharp at both ends, the cut-water retreating at an 
angle of about thirty degrees. The sides, instead of having 
the ordinary bulge, incline at an angle of about fifty-one 
degrees. This hull is one hundred and twenty-four feet 
long, and thirty-four feet broad at the top. Resting on this 
is the upper hull, flat-bottomed, and both longer and wider 
than the lower hull, so that it projects over in every di- 
rection like the guards of a steamboat. It is one hundred 
and seventy-four feet long, forty-one feet four inches wide, 
and five feet deep. These sides constitute the armor of the 
vessel. In the first place is an inner guard of iron, half an 
inch thick : to this is fastened a wall of white-oak, placed 
endways, and thirty inches thick ; to which are bolted six 
plates of iron, each an inch thick, — thus making a solid 
wall of thirty-six and a half inches of wood and iron. This 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 89 

hull is fastened upon the lower hull, so that the latter is 
entirely submerged, and the upper one sinks down three feet 
into the water. Thus but two feet of hull are exposed to a 
shot : the under hull is so guarded by the projecting upper 
hull, that a ball, to strike it, would have to pass through 
twenty-five feet of water. The upper hull is also pointed at 
both ends. The deck comes flush with the top of the hull, 
and is made bomb-proof. No railing or bulwark rises 
above the deck : the projecting ends serve as a protection to 
the propeller, rudder, and anchor, which cannot be struck. 
Neither the anchor nor chain is ever exposed. The anchor 
is peculiar, being very short, but heavy. It is hoisted into 
a place fitted for it outside of the lower hull, but within the 
impenetrable shield of the upper one. On the deck are but 
two structures rising above the surface, — the pilot-house and 
turret. The pilot-house is forward, made of plates of iron, 
the whole about ten inches in thickness, and shot-proof. 
Small slits and holes are cut through to enable the pilot to 
see his course. The turret, which is apparently the main fea- 
ture of the battery, is a round cylinder, twenty feet in interior 
diameter, and nine feet high. It is built entirely of iron 
plates one inch in thickness, eight of them securely bolted 
together, one over another. Within this is a lining of one- 
inch iron, acting as a damper to deaden the effects of a con- 
cussion when struck by a ball : thus there is a shield of 
nine inches of iron. The turret rests on a bed-plate or ring 
of composition, which is fastened to the deck. To help sup- 
port the weight, which is about a hundred tons, a vertical 
shaft, ten inches in diameter, is attached and fastened to the 



90 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

bulk-head. The top is made shot-proof by huge iron beams, 
and perforated to allow of ventilation. It has two circular 
port-holes, both on one side of the turret, three feet above 
the deck, and just large enough for the muzzle of the gun 
to be run out. The turret is made to revolve, being turned 
by a special engine : the operator within, by a rod connected 
with the engine, is enabled to turn it at pleasure. It can be 
made to revolve at the rate of sixty revolutions a minute, 
and can be regulated to stop within half a minute of a given 
point. When the guns are drawn in to load, the port-hole 
is stopped by a huge iron pendulum, which falls to its place, 
and makes that part as secure as any, and can be quickly 
hoisted to one side. The armament consists of two eleven- 
inch Dahlgren guns. Various improvements in the gun- 
carriage enable the gunner to secure almost perfect aim. 
The engine is not of great power, as the vessel was de- 
signed as a battery, and not for swift sailing. It being 
almost entirely under water, the ventilation is secured by 
blowers, drawing the air in forward, and discharging it aft. 
A separate engine moves the blowers and fans the fires. 
There is no chimney ; so the draft must be entirely artificial. 
The smoke passes out of gratings in the deck. Many sup- 
pose the "Monitor" to be merely an iron-clad vessel with a 
turret ; but there are, in fact, between thirty and forty 
patentable inventions upon her, and the turret is by no 
means the most important one. Very properly, what these 
inventions are is not proclaimed to the public' " 

Having thus described the little " Monitor," which was 
then a novelty, and is now a celebrity, it is fitting that the 



' GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 91 

account of the engagement in which she was immortalized 
should be described also. That engagement was " the great- 
est naval engagement of the nineteenth century, not only in 
view of the novelty of the combat and the incalculable issue 
immediately at stake, but because its result went far to set- 
tle the question of foreign intervention. Wooden walls would 
henceforth avail little in maritime warfare, and ships in the 
heavy iron armor which would be requisite must incur 
the utmost hazard in a long voyage over a tempest-breed- 
ing sea."* 

Among the eye-witnesses of this remarkable conflict was 
Eev. Arthur B. Fuller, then Chaplain of the Sixteenth Mas- 
sachusetts Regiment. He furnished for a Northern paper a 
long and graphic sketch of the memorable event, which is 
here given. It is written under date of March 15, 1862. 

" The past week has indeed been an exciting one here. 
The dulness and monotony of camp life have been ex- 
changed for the sound of the stirring drum, of men marcli- 
ing in battle array to meet any land force which might sec- 
ond the naval armament arrayed against us, and for the 
flash and roar of the cannon upon our shores. I have been 
a witness of the entire naval contest, — our signal defeat at 
first, our splendid triumph at the last. Never have I known 
such alternations of feeling as this last week has brought to 
me. I have seen the proud American flag struck and hum- 
bled, and over it the white signal of surrender to a rebel 
steamer waving ; and my heart sank within me for shame ; 

* R. F. Fuller, Esq. 



92 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

and then came emotions of stern resentment, and longing to 
see the affront avenged. I have seen that exultant rebel 
steamer humbled in her turn before the little ' Monitor,' and 
the fierce flame-breathing monster towed disabled away to 
his den ; and then came a feeling of exultation, say rather of 
gratitude to God, whose providence alone sent that deliver- 
ance which no language is adequate to express. Let me now 
briefly recount events of remarkable interest, avoiding the 
trite details already before the public, and narrating things as 
I saw them. The like of this naval engagement, in many 
respects, the world never saw before : the tremendous in- 
terests which hung upon the issue have never been exceeded ; 
and each witness is bound to give his testimony, and give it 
impartially. 

" Never has a brighter day smiled upon Old Virginia than 
last Saturday. The hours crept lazily along, and sea and 
shore in this region saw nothing to vary the monotony of 
the scene. Now and then a soldier might be heard com- 
plaining that this detachment of the loyal army was having 
no part in the glorious victories which everywhere else are 
crowning American valor with such brilliant success ; or a 
sailor might be noted on shipboard, telling how much he 
hoped the ' Merrimack ' would show herself, and how suddenly 
she would be sunk by our war vessels or land guns if she 
dared make her appearance. At one o'clock in the after- 
noon, the scene changed. Two strangely clad steamers 
appeared above Newport News, coming down the river ; and 
a monster — half-ship, half-house — came slowly steaming 
from Norfolk. We did not know, but we all felt, that the 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 93 

latter was the * Merrimack.' Your correspondent at once 
went to the large seminary building on the shore, about two 
miles from the Fortress, and so much nearer Newport News, 
that, with an excellent spy-glass, he could see distinctly every 
movement made. The engagement was a brief one, and as 
terrible and disastrous as brief. The ' Merrimack ' is a slow 
sailer. Out she steamed steadily toward Newport News, and 
at once attacked the ' Cumberland.' There can never be a 
braver defence than the officers and sailors of that frigate 
made. They fought long after resistance was hopeless ; 
they never surrendered^ even when the water was filled with 
drowning men, and the fast-disappearing decks were slip- 
pery with blood : but all was in vain. With terrible and 
resistless force, the ' Merrimack ' steamed at the doomed ves- 
sel, and pierced her side with her immense iron beak, at the 
same time firing her heavy guns directly through her antag- 
onist. The noble ' Cumberland ' soon sunk ; and her sailors 
who were yet alive sought safety in the masts yet above wa- 
ter, or by swimming to the shore. 

" Meanwhile, the ' Congi^ess ' had been fired upon by the 
rebel steamers ' Yorktown' and ' Jamestown,' and also by the 
tug-boats which accompanied the ' Merrimack.' She had got 
as near the shore as possible ; but, when the iron monster 
turned his attention to her, she was soon obliged to surrender. 
Oh, how bitterly we all felt the humiliation of seeing the white 
flag rising to the mast-head above the stars and stripes ! I 
am afraid I felt hardly like a Christian for the moment, if 
indeed a longing for vengeance upon my country's enemies 
he unchristian. I would have given all I possessed to see 



94 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

that accursed tyrant of the seas, with the rebel pennant defi- 
antly flying, sunk beside her victim, the noble ' Cumberland.' 
But it was not to be. AYe looked for the ' Minnesota ' and ' Roa- 
noke,' our helpers in the strife, the first our main dependence ; 
and, lo ! both* were aground and helpless in that fearful hour ! 
It was well ; for sure as they had floated, and the ' Merrimack' 
could have come at them, they, too, must have been sunk or 
captured. The ' Merrimack ' draws more water than either 
of them. It did seem strange, though, that such a mishap 
should have chanced to both of these steam-frigates, whose 
pilots ought to have been so familiar with the channel : but 
the ' Roanoke ' for six months had lain in these waters with a 
broken shaft, which renders her helpless ; and the former 
pilot of the ' Minnesota ' had just given way to another and 
less experienced man. It Avas all overruled for good. 

" The ' Merrimack ' now threw her balls thick and fast and 
heavy upon the camps at Newport News. Strange to say, 
none of these shot or shell did any material damage ; though 
one of them passed directly through Gen. Mansfield's quar- 
ters, made wild work with his room, covered the gene- 
ral with splinters of Avood, and, had it exploded, must have 
killed him. I saw the shell next day, and conversed with 
the general with reference to it. He has it in his apart- 
ment. It weighed forty-two pounds : another by its side, also 
sent from the ' Merrimack,' weighed ninety-two. The shells 
were rather badly aimed, and most of them went into the 
woods, cutting oiF tops of trees as they fell, but fortunate- 
ly, nay, providentially, harming no one of the soldiers, or 
the fleeing women and children and contrabands. A little 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 95 

tug had been sent meanwhile from the ' Merrimack ' to the 
' Congress' to take off the prisoners ; but this tug was a mark 
for the sharpshooters from the shore and from the land 
batteries, which had been admirably served under Gen. 
Mansfield's skilful direction, and frightened the ' Yorktown * 
and ' Jamestown ' and the little rebel gunboats from landing 
their forces. The officers of the ' Congress,' and most of the 
sailors who were not killed, all save twenty-three, escaped to 
the shore ; and the ' Merrimack,' damaged but not disabled 
by the ' Cumberland's ' broadsides, with her commander 
wounded and several men killed, retired from the conflict, 
giving a few passing shots at the ' Minnesota,' but reserving 
her case till the morrow, and slowly steaming up to Norfolk, 
accompanied by the ' Jamestown,' ' Yorktown,' and the 
smaller rebel craft. 

" That morrow ! How anxiously we waited for it ! how 
much we feared its results ! how anxious our Saturday eve 
of preparation ! At sundown, there was nothing to dispute 
the empire of the seas with the ' Merrimack ; ' and, had a 
land attack been made by Magruder then, God only knows 
what our fate would have been. The ' St. Lawrence' and the 
'Minnesota' aground and helpless, the 'Roanoke' with a 
broken shaft, — these were our defences by sea ; while on 
land we were doing all possible to resist a night invasion : but 
who could hope that would have much efficiency ? Oh, what 
a night that was ! I never can forget it. There was no 
fear during its long hours, — danger, I find, does not bring 
that ; but there was a longing for some interposition of 
God, and waiting upon Him, from whom we felt our help 



96 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

must come, in earnest, fervent prayer, while not neglecting 

all the means of martial defence he had placed in our 

hands. Fugitives from Newport News kept arriving : 

ladies and children had walked the long ten miles from 

Newport News, feeling that their presence only embarrassed 

their brave husbands. Sailors from the ' Congress ' and 

' Cumberland ' came, one of them with his ship's flag bound 

about his waist as he swam with it ashore, determined the 

enemy should never trail it in dishonor as a trophy. Dusky 

fugitives, the contrabands, came, mournfully fleeing from a 

fate worse than death, — slavery. These entered my cabin 

hungry and weary, or passed it in long, sad procession. 

The heavens were aflame with the burning ' Congress.' The 

hotel was crowded with fugitives, and private hospitality 

was taxed to the utmost. But there were no soldiers among 

the flying host: all in our camps at Newport News and 

Camp Hamilton were at the post of duty, undismayed, and 

ready to do all and dare all for their country. The sailors 

came only to seek another chance at the enemy, since the 

bold 'Cumberland' had gone down in deep waters, and the 

* Congress '.had gone upward, as if a chariot of fire, to 

convey the manly souls, whose bodies had perished in the 

conflict, upward to heaven. I had lost several friends there : 

yet not lost ; for they are saved who do their duty to their 

country and their God as these had done. "We did not 

pray in vain. 

* The heavy night hung dark 

The hills and waters o'er ; ' 
but the night was not half so heavy as our hearts, nor so 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 97 

dark as our prospects. All at once, a speck of light gleamed 
on the distant wave : it moved ; it came nearer and nearer ; 
and, at ten o'clock at night, the ' Monitor' apipeared! ' AVheu 
the tale of bricks is doubled, Moses comes.' I never more 
firmly believed in special providence than at that hour. 
Even sceptics for the moment were converted, and said, 
' God has sent her ! ' But how insignificant she looked ! 
She was but a speck on the dark-blue -sea at night, almost a 
laughable object by day. The enemy call hSr ' a cheese- 
box on a raft ; ' and the comparison is a good one. Could 
she meet the ' Merrimack ' ? The morrow must determine ; 
for, under God, the ' Monitor' is our only hope. 

'' The morrow came ; and with it came the inevitable battle 
between those strange combatants, the 'Merrimack' and the 
' Monitor.' What a lovely Sabbath morning it was ! How 
peaceful and balmy that Southern spring morning ! Smil- 
ing Nature whispered only ' Peace ; ' but fierce Treason 
breathed out threatenings and slaughter, and would have war. 
Nor would the rebels respect the Sabbath : they know no 
doctrine but Slavery, no duty but obedience to her bloody 
behests. War let it be, then, since wicked men so determine, 
and we have no alternative but shameful surrender of truth 
and eternal justice. The guilt of violating God's Sabbath 
be upon the heads of those who will do it : we may not, 
indeed cannot, shrink from the terrible ordeal of battle. 
And soon it comes. At nine o'clock, a.m., the ' Merrimack* 
came out, attended by her consorts the war-steamers ' James- 
town' and ' Yorktown,' and a fleet of little tug-boats, crowded 
with ladies and gentlemen from Norfolk who were desirous 
7 



98 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON: 

of seeing the ' Minnesota ' captured, and perhaps even For- 
tress Monroe taken ; certainly all its outlying vessels, and the 
houses in its environs, burned. 

" The little 'Monitor* lay concealed in the shadow of the 
'Minnesota.' The ' Merrimack' opens the conflict, and her 
guns shake the sea and air as they breathe out shot and flame. 
Sewall's Point sends from its mortars shell which burst in 
the air above the doomed ' Minnesota.' The ' Minnesota,' 
still aground, replies with a bold but ineffectual broadside. 
All promises an easy victory to the ' Merrimack,' when, lo ! 
the little 'Monitor' steams gently out, and offers the monster 
' Merrimack ' battle. IIow puny, how contemptible, she 
seemed ! nothing but that little round tub appearing above 
the water, and yet flinging down the gauge of defiance to the 
gigantic ' Merrimack.' 'Twas little David challenging the 
giant Goliath once again, — the little one the hope of Israel, 
the giant the pride of the heathen Philistines. Truly our 
hopes were dim, and our hearts almost faint, for the moment. 
The few men on the ' Monitor ' are sea and storm worn and 
weary enough ; and their little craft is an experiment, with 
only two guns with Avhich to answer the ' Merrimack's ' many. 
"Who can doubt the issue ? who believe the ' Monitor ' can fail 
to be defeated ? And, if she is, what is to hinder the vic- 
torious and unopposed and unopposable 'Merrimack' from 
opening the blockade of the coast, or shelling Washington, 
New York, and Boston, after first devastating our camp 
and destroying its soldiery ? That was the issue : such 
might have been the result, smile now who will. Believe 
me, there were prayers offered, many and fervent, that 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 99 

Sabbatli, along the shore, and from the Fortress waUs, as 
our regiment watched the battle ; and sailors must have 
prayed, too, as never before. 

" The ' Merrimack,' after a few minutes of astounded si- 
lence, opened the contest. She tried to sink her puny foe at 
once by a broadside, and be no longer delayed from the ' Min- 
nesota,' whose capture she had determined upon. After the 
smoke of the cannonade had cleared away, we looked, fear- 
ing, and the crew of the 'Merrimack' looked, hoping, that 
the 'Monitor' had sunk to rise no more. But she still lived. 
There she was, with the white wreaths of smoke crowning 
her tower as if a coronet of glory. And valiantly she re- 
turned the fire too ; and for five hours, such a lively can- 
nonading as was heard, shaking earth and sea, was never 
heard before. Literally, I believe that never have ships 
carrying such heavy guns met till that Sabbath morning. 
Every mana3uvre was exhausted by the enemy. The ' York- 
town' approached to mingle in the fray. One shot was 
enough to send her quickly back, a lame duck upon the 
waters, though she, too, is iron-clad. The 'Merrimack* 
tried to run the 'Monitor' down, and thus sink her: she 
only got fiercer shots by the opportunity she thus gave her 
little antagonist. And so it went on, till the proud 'Merri- 
mack,' disabled, was glad to retire, and, making signals of 
distress, was towed away by her sorrowing consorts. David 
had conquered Goliath with his smooth stones or wrought- 
iron balls from his little sling or shot-tower. Israel rejoiced 
in her deliverance through the power of God, who had sent 
that little champion of his cause, in our direst extremity, to 



100 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the battle. Since then, the ' Merrimack' has not shown her- 
self; and the enemy confess her disabled, and her com- 
mander, Buchanan (ominous name), severely wounded, four 
of her crew killed, and seventeen wounded. They admit, 
too, the valor of our seamen, futile though it was. The 
' Cumberland's ' officers and crew, says the ' Norfolk Day- 
Book,' ' fought worthy of a better cause ; ' say, rather, 
worthy of the best cause in the world ; and we who witnessed 
the fight will agree with them. 

" All that night, as well as the previous, and for several 
succeeding, our regiments were under arms. I will not detail 
the precautions taken to prevent a defeat by land, as, through 
the providence of God, an ultimate defeat by sea has been 
averted. Few of us slept that night ; and, had we done so, 
most of us would have been awakened at midnight by the 
fearful cries which came to us from the water, — ' Ship 
ahoy ! O God, save us ! Fire, fire, fire ! ' and occasion- 
ally a heavy cannon mingling its roar with those fearful cries. 
I rushed to the shore with many others, and there, a little 
distance from me, beheld the gunboat 'Whitehall' burning, 
and apparently her crew perishing in the fire, or drown- 
ing in the water near. It was terrible ; all the more so as 
we could do nothing to aid, no boat being near our camp. 
The balls from her shotted guns made even looking on dan- 
gerous. One shell struck the United-States hospital at the 
Fortress, and caused great terror among the inmates, all of 
whom believed for a while that the ' Merrimack ' had come 
down again, and was shelling the fort. Only four of those 
poor seamen perished in the flames or water, through the 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVT. 101 

mercy of God. The fire came from a shot from the ' Mer- 
rimack,' which had the day before passed through the 
'Whitehall/ and left a little spark smouldering unknown 
within. 

" Amid all these events, disastrous or merciful, our soldiers 
still live, the Fortress yet remains unscathed, and the ' Min- 
nesota' and 'Roanoke' and 'St. Lawrence' — though the 
first two need repairs — yet fly the old flag at their main- 
masts. Above all, the little ' Monitor' floats in triumph, — 
a sentinel on the waters, and a strict monitor over the 
rebels. But for the wounding of her noble commander, 
Lieut. Worden, she would have pursued and sunk the 
'Merrimack,' and will probably do so if another encounter 
occurs. She has now another noble commander, Lieut. T. 
A. Selfridge of Charlesto^\m, whom I have known from his 
boyhood, and know to be brave, and worthy of the proud old 
Bay State. I have visited Newport News, and mourned there 
the death of the worthy Chaplain Lenhart, and the heroic 
Capt. Moore, whom I saw but a few days before, and talked 
with about his intended visit home to Boston. But, while I 
have mourned, I have also rejoiced over our camps, in which 
none were killed ; and our officers and sailors, so many of 
whom were rescued. America will never forget that battle. 
It will mark an era in the history of the navy. It has taught 
us a useful lesson ; and henceforth we have no more wooden 
walls as our reliance, but first our God, and then plates of 
steel, and iron-clad frigates and monitors." 

These thrilling events are worthy to live in song and 
story to the end of time. The ill-fated "Cumberland" 



102 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

has thus been mentioned, and the scene painted with a 
poet's pen : — 

" The sun, uprising, gilds the placid bay ; 

And, waked to life once more, the bright mists rise : 
No breeze to wave the starry ensign folds. 

Where, slumbering on the tide, a stout ship Hes. 
The sunburnt sailor, from his lookout, marks 

The lazy smoke up-floating from the shore ; 
In fancy sees his distant cottage home : 

Alas ! that home shall never see him more. 

Hark ! distant booming through the shining calm ; 

A signal cannon shakes the silent air : 
Then spring to arms the gallant sailor-lads ; 

No coward hearts, no blanching lips, are there. 
The hurrying footsteps answer with their tread 

The boatswain's whistle, quavering shrill it blows ; 
The loud drum rolls ; the opening ports reveal 

The deep-mouthed cannon ranged in deadly rows. 

E'en as the hawk, high-poised in air, surveys 

With cruel eye, then falls, and strikes his prey, 
Straight for the fated ship, a monster strange, 

All cased in mail, unerring holds its way. 
Swift from the ship's side vivid lightnings flash, 

And peal on peal her cannon shake the main. 
Shall not that tempest sweep away the foe ? 

Shall all the eff"orts of the brave be vain "? 

Ask how the Aztec bared his swarthy breast 
With fearless heart, and, giving blow for blow. 

Met the fierce Spaniard, sheathed in glittering steel, 
Safe in his armor, smiling on his foe ; 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 103 

Ask if the breaker, gathering as it rolls, 

And swings with ponderous crash a whelming blow, 

Shall harm the gray cliff frowning o'er the tide, 
And heedless of the roaring seas below. 

With headlong force, the monster strikes the ship ; 

The crashing timbers sound the seamen's knell : 
Yet still the spangled flag above them floats, 

As up her sides the blood-stained billows swell. 
Yet still defiance thunders in her fires, 

Till surging waters choke the cannon's breath. 
She sinks, she sinks ! Great Heaven, have mercy now ! 

The whirling eddies suck them down to death. 

As when in camp the wounded soldier dies. 

He bids good-night, then yields his spirit brave, 
His sorrowing comrades lay him down to rest. 

And fire their volleys o'er the new-made grave ; 
Swift to avenge, the ' Monitor ' appears. 

And pays the funeral honors to the dead, — 
Their dirge the awful thunder of her guns. 

Her battle-volleys o'er their watery bed. 

O gallant sailors ! shall we weep for them ? 

No : rather let our bosoms swell with pride ; 
For aged grandsires breathless crowds shall tell 

How fought the * Cumberland,' — show Avhere they died. 
Their names resplendent on the roll of fame, 

Their monument each flag that floats on high : 
Why should we weep ? No, no ! they are not dead ; 

A grateful country will not let them die." * 

* Thomas F. Power. 



104 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL,' AND PRISON. 

The " Boston Traveller" thus refers to that scene of hero- 
ism : — 

"If to deserve success is better than oftentimes to gain 
it, then Lieut. Maurice and the gallant crew of the ill- 
fated ' Cumberland ' merit the admiration and thanks of the 
whole loyal country. The sight of such an invulnerable 
monster as the ' Merrimack ' bearing straight down upon a 
wooden vessel, not in the least affected by a half a dozen 
heavy broadsides, would have unnerved many a crew ; but 
it had no effect on the gallant sailors of the ' Cumberland.* 
They kept up their rapid firing till the iron monster crashed 
her horn into the side of the ' Cumberland,' knocking in a 
hole as large as the head of a hogshead. Even then, while 
the water was rushing in like a flood, and the vessel going 
down, and the ' Merrimack,' at the distance of three hun- 
dred yards, was pouring in murderous broadsides, the men 
fought till the last gun was submerged. The fight continued 
three-quarters of an hour ; and the firing of the ' Cumber- 
land's ' guns was so accurate,, that, when one of the ' Merri- 
mack's ' crew crept out of a port to the outside of her plated 
roof, a ball instantly cut him in two ! We do not believe 
that there is an action on record which shows more heroic 
fighting than this hopeless one on the part of the ' Cumber- 
land.' She lies now in fifty-four feet of water, with the 
stars and stripes still flying from her topmast ; but a grateful 
country will honor her commander and her decimated crew." 

The Heroes of the "Cumberland." — The following 
interesting details of the behavior of the seamen of the 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUH NAVT. 105 

" Cumberland " are from a private letter from Pliiladel- 
pliia : — 

" Dr. Martin, who was surgeon on board, passed through 
here yesterday. He was on board during the fight, and 
gives a thrilling account of the scene. So far from being a 
scene of confusion, every man and boy, he says, showed the 
most astounding courage and coolness. Morris, the first 
officer in command, fought the ship most gallantly ; but 
after the 'Merrimack' had run her down, and finding that 
she must soon sink, he told every man to jump overboard, 
and save himself as he best could. No one left her until 
the water began to pour over the sills of the ports. Martin 
did not leave his post below until told that he had not an 
instant to lose. As he passed up, the men were firing the 
last guns. He says he looked along the line for a moment, 
and saw the most magnificent sight of his life. As they 
fired the last broadside, the men coolly put the sponges in 
the racks just as they do after drill, and left the ship only 
at the moment when she was settling under them. The 
same men, fifteen minutes after they got on shore, were in 
the water, with rifles, helping to drive the rebel gunboat 
from the ' Congress.' " 

" Heroic Conduct of a Massachusetts Soldier. — 
Lieut. Loomis, who commanded the ' Congress,' after firing 
the last shot at the enemy, when all hope of saving his ves- 
sel from destruction had vanished, jumped into the river, 
and endeavored to swim ashore, about a mile distant. At 
this time, the shot and shell from the ' Merrimack ' were fly- 



106 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

ing in all directions ; and escape seemed impossible, even 
could his strength hold out. At this critical juncture, a 
soldier of the Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Regiment, Col. 
E. W. Pierce commanding, sprang into the boat, and made 
for the half-sinking lieutenant. After prodigious exertion, 
he succeeded, and brought him safe to shore." 

To our lamented President, the news of the David and 
Goliath encounter was most welcome ; and he showed his 
appreciation of the value of the services then rendered by 
the "Monitor" and her gallant crew when he visited the 
wounded commander. A newspaper * correspondent thus 
describes the visit : — 

" That night I left the Fortress, and got Worden safe home 
in Washington City ; when, leaving him to the care of my 
wife, I went with the Secretary to the President, and gave 
him the particulars of the engagement. As soon as I had 
done, Mr. Lincoln said, ' Gentlemen, Pm going to shake 
hands with that man ; ' and presently he walked round with 
me to our little house. I led him up stairs to the room where 
Worden was lying with fresh bandages over his scorched 
eyes and face, and said, ' Jack, here's the President, who 
has come to see you ! ' He raised himself on his elbow, as 
Mr. Lincoln took him by the hand, and said, ' You do me 
great honor, Mr. President ; and I am only sorry that I 
can't see you.' The President was visibly affected, as, with 
tall frame and earnest gaze, he bent over his wounded 
subordinate ; but after a pause he said, with a quiver 

* Advertiser. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 107 

in the tone of his voice, ' You have done me more honor, 
sir, than I could do you.' He then sat down, while TVor- 
den gave him an account of the battle ; and, on leaving, he 
promised, if he could legally do so, that he would make 
him a captain." 

The services rendered by our brave sailors in subduing 
the Rebellion were invaluable. Not only did the Chief 
Magistrate of the nation appreciate them, but the humblest 
loyal heart throbbed in sympathy with the spirit that w^ould 
wreathe the names of our naval heroes with immortal 
honor. A writer in a religious paper * thus expresses his 
feelings : — 

'' I was walking up Broadway the other day, when a sailor 
passed me. He wore the navy blue. His beaming eye 
bespoke an intelligent patriotism. His stalwart form and 
sinewy frame must have come from the mountain regions. 
Perhaps near Kearsarge Mountain was his home. Every 
one noted him as he passed. He seemed to be proud of the 
national uniform which covered his commanding figure. 
Just opposite us, as we were side by side, the starry flag 
was flung from a window. It floated on the air of the free 
United States. The sailor paused, and looked at the ban- 
ner : his eye beamed w^ith a new light, and his moving lip 
breathed afresh its devotion ; but his hat was not touched 
by the ready hand, nor was his arm raised to greet the flag 
he loved. Both arms had been shot away. Tavo empty 
coat-sleeves dangled from his shoulders. They were two 
coat-sleeves, not empty; full, full of pathos, — a pathos which 

* The Home Evangelist. 



108 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

touched me, which thrilled me. Perhaps he was one of the 
crew of the ' Kearsarge * when she sent the ' Alabama ' to 
the bottom. Wherever he had been, his duty had been 
done. Patriotism could ask no more of her noble offspring. 
It dimmed my eye to look upon the gallant fellow, and think 
of the sacrifice made by him ; but he gazed smilingly upon 
the flag, and seemed to say, ' What I have given I count no 
sacrifice, old flag. Fd make my life a rampart to defend 
you.' Noble fellow ! I love him as I love few men. I feel 
a thrill of pride in thinking of him as my o^vn countryman. 
The friends who own him, who serve him, who enjoy his 
companionship, how proud they are to note the heart-heaving 
gratitude of the thousands who meet the hero ! His gen- 
erosity is known : he gives ; he has given his arms to his 
country." 

The allusion to the "Kearsarge" is best explained by the 
following account of the heroic achievement of that craft 
and her gallant crew : — 

" The ' Kearsarge ' was one of the steam war-vessels of the 
United-States navy, and was ordered to proceed to Cher- 
bourg to watch the movements of the 'Alabama,' one of 
the privateers of the Southern Confederacy, whose preda- 
tory career had been far from agreeable to our Govern- 
ment, or the unfortunate ships which came in her way only 
to be captured, and sometimes destroyed. On the 15th of 
June, 1864, the commander of the ' Kearsarge,* Capt. 
John A. Winslow, received a note from Capt. Semmes, of 
the ' Alabama,' announcing his intention to fight the 
' Kearsarge,' and asking Capt. Winslow not to depart till 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY, 109 

there had been a trial of strength between them. As this 
was just what the Federal officer desired, he gladly waited. 
"The relative proportions and armaments of the two 
antagonists were as follows : — 





"Alabama." 


"Kearsarge." 


Length over all, 


220 feet. 


214i feet. 


Length on water line, 


210 " 


198^ " 


Beam, 


32 " 


33 " 


Depth, 


17 " 


16 " 


Horse-power, two engines 


of 300 each. 


400 horse-power. 


Tonnage, 


1,150 tons. 


1,030 tons. 



Armament of the " Alabama : " One 7-inch Blakely rifle, one 8-inch 

smooth-bore 68-pounder, six 32-pounders. 
Armament of the "Kearsarge:" Two 11 -inch smooth-bore guns, one 

30-pounder. rifle, four 32-pounders. 

" The * Kearsarge ' had twenty-two officers and one hun- 
dred and forty men ; and the ' Alabama/ so far as can be 
ascertained, about one hundred and forty officers and men, 
the greater part of the ship's company consisting of British 
subjects. Her gunners were trained artillerists from the 
British practice-ship ' Excellent.' Availing himself of an 
ingenious expedient for the protection of his machinery, first 
adopted by Admiral Farragut in running past the rebel 
forts on the Mississippi in 1862, Capt. Winslow had hung 
all his spare anchor-cable over the midship section of the 
' Kearsarge,' on either side ; and, in order to make the ad- 
dition less unsightly, the chains were boxed over with inch 
deal-boards, forming a sort of case, which stood out at 
right angles to the side of the vessel. 



110 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

"At twenty minutes past ten on Sunday morning, 
June 19, the 'Alabama' was seen standing out from Cher- 
bourg Harbor, accompanied by the French iron-clad * Cou- 
ronne,' and followed by the steam - yacht ' Deerhound,* 
whose owner, an Englishman named Lancaster, was on 
board with his family, ostensibly to witness the engage- 
ment, but really, as it subsequently appeared, to act as a 
tender to the ' Alabama.' 

"Upon seeing the 'Alabama' approach, Capt. Winslow 
kept out to sea a few miles, in order ' that the positions of 
the ships should be so far off shore, that no questions could 
be advanced about the line of jurisdiction.' Upon reaching 
a point about seven miles from the land, the ' Kearsarge ' 
put about, and steered directly for the ' Alabama,' which 
first opened fire at a range of about a mile. The following 
account of the fight that ensued is given by Capt. Winslow : — 

" ' Immediately I ordered more speed ; but in two minutes 
the " Alabama" had again loaded, and fired another broad- 
side, and followed it with a third, without damaging us, ex- 
cept in rigging. We had now arrived within nine hundred 
yards of her ; and I was apprehensive that another broadside^ 
nearly raking as it was, would prove disastrous. Accord- 
ingly, I ordered the " Kearsarge " sheered, and opened fire 
on the "Alabama." 

" ' The positions of the vessels were now broadside ; but 
it was soon apparent that Capt. Semmes did not seek close 
action. I became then fearful, lest, after some fighting, he 
would aa:ain make for the shore. To defeat this, I deter- 
mined to keep full speed on, and, with a port helm, to run 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. Ill 

under the stern of the "Alabama/' and rake, if he did not 
prevent it by sheering and keeping his broadside to us. He 
adopted this mode as a preventive ; and, as a consequence, 
the "Alabama" was forced, with a full head of steam, into a 
circular track during the engagement. 

" ' The effect of this manoeuvre was such, that at the last 
of the action, when the "Alabama" would have made off, 
she was near five miles from the shore ; and had the action 
continued from the first in parallel lines, with her head in 
shore, the line of jurisdiction would no doubt have been 
reached. 

" ^The firing of the "Alabama" from the first was rapid 
and wild : toward the close of the action, her firing became 
better. Our men, who had been cautioned against rapid 
firing without direct aim, were much more deliberate ; and 
the instructions given to point the heavy guns below rather 
than above the water-line, and clear the deck with the 
lighter ones, were fully observed. I had endeavored with a 
port helm to close in with the " Alabama ; " but it was not 
until just before the close of the action that we Avere in a 
position to use grape : this was avoided, however, by her 
surrender. The effect of the training of our men was evi- 
dent : nearly every shot from our guns was telling fearfully 
on the " Alabama ; " and, on the seventh rotation on the 
circular track, she winded, setting fore-trysail and two jibs, 
with head in shore. 

" ' Her speed was now retarded ; and, by winding, her port 
broadside was presented to us with only two guns bearing ; 
not having been able, as I learned afterward, to shift over 



112 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

but one. I saw now that she was at our mercy ; and a few 
more guns, well directed, brought down her flag. I was 
unable to ascertain Avhether they had been hauled down or 
shot away ; but a white flag having been displayed over the 
stern, followed by two guns fired to leeward, our fire was 
reserved. Two minutes had not more than elapsed before 
she again opened on us with the two guns on the port side. 
This drew our fire again ; and the "Kearsarge" was imme- 
diately steamed ahead, and lay across her bows for raking. 

" ' The white flag was still flying, and our fire was again 
reserved. Shortly after this, her boats were seen to be lower- 
ing ; and an ofiicer in one of them came alongside, and in- 
formed us the ship had surrendered and was fast sinking. In 
twenty minutes from this time, the "Alabama" went down ; 
her mainmast, which had received a shot, breaking near the 
head as she sunk, and her bow rising high out of the water 
as her stern rapidly settled. The fire of the " Alabama," 
although it is stated she discharged three hundred and 
seventy or more shell and shot, was not of serious damage to 
the " Kearsarge." Some thirteen or fourteen of these had 
taken effect in and about the hull, and sixteen or seventeen 
about the waist and rigging.' 

"The boats of the 'Kearsarge' were at once sent to 
receive the officers and crew of the ' Alabama ; ' but so 
rapidly did she go down, that it was impossible to save 
them all without assistance. Capt. Winslow accordingly 
requested the ' Deerhound,' which had meanwhile come 
alongside, to assist in the rescue of his prisoners. The 
crew of the privateer were by this time struggling for their 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 113 

lives in the water ; and many of the wounded men went 
down. In the confusion of the moment, the ' Deerhound/ 
after picking up forty-one persons, including Semmes, who 
was wounded, steamed off toward the English coast ; and, 
when observed, had got too much the start to be overhauled. 
The total number brought on board the ' Kearsarge ' was 
sixty-nine, of whom seventeen were wounded, and twelve 
were picked up, and carried into Cherbourg, by two French 
pilot-boats. Several of the wounded died soon after ; and 
the total number of officers and men belonging to the 
' Alabama,' who were landed in France or England, 
amounted to one hundred and fifteen. The casualties of the 
' Kearsarge ' amounted to only three wounded. This most 
remarkable sea-fight between single ships, that has occurred 
within the century, was witnessed by thousands of spectators 
on the French shore ; and the result produced a profound 
impression in Europe and America." * 

The " Alabama " had been such a terror to the people 
on the Atlantic coast, and to all who had friends out upon 
the ocean liable to fall into the hands of her piratical crew, 
that the news of her capture afforded great joy ; and, when 
the " Kearsarge" returned to the East, her officers and men 
were received with well-deserved honors. 

Many of the navy officers at the commencement of the war 
ignominiously deserted the flag they were pledged to defend. 
But there were left a " faithful few," whom loyal hearts 
should never forget, or cease to honor. The commander of 
the " Crusader," f at Mobile, when his gunboat was exposed 

* Annual Cyclopaedia, 1864. f Lieut. J. N. Maffit. 

8 



114 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

to the fire of Fort Morgan, which the enemy had seized, was 
commanded to surrender his vessel to the State of Alabama. 
His noble reply was, " I may be overp<5wered ; but, in that 
event, what will be left of the ' Crusader ' will not be worth 
taking." 

Capt. Porter, of the ship " St. Mary's," was ordered to 
surrender to a South-Carolina officer ; but he also nobly 
answered, — 

"You, sir, have called upon your brother-officers, not 
only to become traitors to their country, but to betray their 
sacred trust, and deliver up the ships under their command. 
This infamous appeal would, in ordinary times, be treated 
with the contempt it deserved ; but I feel it a duty I owe 
myself, and brother-officers wdth whom I am associated, to 
reply, and state, that all under my command are true and 
loyal to the stars and stripes and to the Constitution. My 
duty is plain before me. The Government of the United 
States has intrusted me with the command of this beauti- 
ful ship ; and, before I will permit any other flag than the 
stars and stripes to fly at her peak, I w^ill fire a pistol in 
her magazine, and blow her up. This is my answer to your 
infamous letter." 

There were sixteen naval engagements during the war. 
Some of them were gunboat expeditions ; but in most of 
them the large iron-clads took a prominent part. Gen. 
Fremont is said to have been the originator of the Missis- 
sippi gunboat expedition, which proved so efficient in 
capturing those forts by means of which the enemy hoped 
to keep a large part of the Mississippi closed to the North. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. ~ 115 

Many more pages than this volume will contain would be 
needed if a full and connected history of the gunboat expedi- 
tions, which reflect such honor upon American sailors, should 
be given. Hence there will be presented to the reader only 
somewhat brief sketches of our naval exploits, and some in- 
cidents of interest which occurred in connection with them. 

During the naval engagement at Fort Pillow, the Fed- 
eral gunboat "Cincinnati" was caught in a very critical 
position by the rebel fleet, being two or three miles farther 
down the stream than her consorts. She had to sustain the 
unexpected onset of six huge rebel gunboats, but met them 
right gallantly, fearful as were the odds. A letter written 
by a person who was on board the " Cincinnati" during the 
battle is published in the "Chicago Tribune." It gives a 
graphic description of the fight. We quote : — 

"One glance around showed us how critical was the state 
of affairs. Fully two miles and a half lay between us and 
the remainder of the flotilla, who, not anticipating an attack, 
lay, with steam down, tied securely to the shore, far above 
us. To attempt to escape up the river, then, were worse 
than useless. Our only hope was in God and our noble 
guns. '.Down stream with her ! ' cried the captain ; and, 
obeying her rudder, the ' Cincinnati ' slowly swung round. 
The first rebel boat, which was now but a few hundred yards 
from us, divining our intention, sheered out to get a chance 
at our stern as we came around ; the next one came directly 
on ; while the third kept in toward the shore. 

"We were thus surrounded on all sides. Turning di- 
rectly for the largest of our adversaries, we poured into her 



116 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

sides the whole starboard battery at a distance of not over 
three hundred yards. Tiiis huge craft, being now above us, 
turned, and headed directly for our starboard quarter ; her 
immense hull looming full thirty feet above the surface of 
the river, — not a man, nor a gun, nor any thing but a huge 
black mass, to be seen. Down she came, ploughing up the 
water with her bows. ' Give it to her, boys ! ' shouted the 
gunner. A bright flash, a deafening roar, and a whole 
broadside poured into her hull ; but it did not arrest her 
progress ; and the next instant, with a terrible crash, she 
came into our starboard quarter. We seemed to be lifted 
bodily out of the water. We surged on to one side, but 
soon settled back as the rebel boat drew back. 

" She turned again on us ; when the ' Cincinnati,' even 
then in a sinking condition, swung a little, and, at a distance 
of only ten yards, sent a terrible shower of solid shot crash- 
ins; through the monster's ribs. Smoke and steam came 
pouring out of her upper works. Quickly loading again, 
though so near that the balls were with difficulty rammed 
home, the starboard battery belched forth another broadside. 
Through and through the black hulk the balls tore their 
way. The monster's vitals are touched ; his head SAvings 
off several points ; and slowly the huge mass drifts down 
stream. During this time, another craft, painted a dirty mud- 
color, of the same build, but not quite so large, as our lirst 
adversary, came steaming down on our port-quarter ; but, on 
our sheering, she fell astern, and, crowding on all steam, came 
fairly flying at us. Our stern-battery only got two shots at 
her ; when, about three minutes after the first shot struck, 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 117 

the second came into our stern with a crash that took nearly 
every one off their feet. 

" The water poured into our hull in two unbroken streams. 
Capt. Stembel had been shot while giving orders on the 
spar-deck ; and, about the same time, the fourth master, while 
gallantly working his division, was shot down in his foot- 
steps by a shot through the port-hole. The boat was gradu- 
ally settling ; and a deep gloom overspread the crew as our 
appalling situation became evident. A cheer reaches our 
ears ; and joy comes to every heart as our eyes greet the 
'Benton,' ' Carondelet,' 'Mound City,' 'Pittsburg,' and 
' St. Louis ' sweeping like an avalanche into the rebel fleet. 
Now came a naval engagement, the like of which has been 
seldom seen, — the rams trying to run our boats down while 
we poured broadside after broadside into their huge hulls. 
They were not done with us yet. ^ 

" Our last adversary drew back from us some hundred 
yards, and, cracking on steam, came rushing along at a fear- 
ful rate. The port stern gun was trained on her ; and a solid 
32-pounder ball entered her bow, and raked the entire 
length of the boat. ' Haul down your flag, Yanks, and 
we'll save you ! ' shouted some one. Another 32 was the 
only response ; and the next instant she struck just inside the 
starboard rudder. The water was now rising in the boat at a 
fearful rate : the engineers were up to their waists in water : 
a few inches more would put out the fires. Under the im- 
pression that it was useless to attempt to save her, the first 
master came down the companion-way, and said, ' BoijSy 
Jight while you can: our flag will not go down until we do,* 



118 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" The men cheered, and with renewed ahxcrity sprang to 
their guns : those at the starboard battery had two broad- 
sides at a rebel craft which was trying to run the ' Caron- 
delet;' but the 'Benton' came between us, and engaged it. 
She gave first her bow-guns ; wheeL'ng, she delivered a 
whole broadside, and last her stern battery. The rebel 
craft, having an immense hole in her bow, hauled down her 
flag ; Avhen the ' Benton ' ceased firing, and left for another : 
but she was no sooner away than the cowardly, dastardly 
rebels ran it up again. 

" Three of the rebel boats were now drifting helplessly 
down stream ; one, the ' Mexico,' was laboring heavily, while 
another was on fire : but our own condition was too critical 
to pay much attention to any thing else. We were slowly 
drifting down stream, and would soon be in range of the 
fort. Our rudders snmshed, the fires out, our case did 
indeed look hopeless. But the gallant old ^ Cincinnati ' was 
not destined to be another ' Cumberland : ' her days, glori- 
ous as they have been, were not over yet. The poAverful 
little tugs ' Jessie Benton ' and ' Dauntless ' made fast to her 
boAV, and succeeded in running the boat quarterwise across 
the river, just in time to get her on the bank, when she 
sunk." 

"Carleton,"ofthe" Boston Journal,"* thus graphically pic- 
tures the destruction of a rebel gunboat : — 

" Destruction of the ' Nashville.' — The rebel steamer 
' Nashville,' which began piratical depredations by burning 

* C. C. Coffin, Esq. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 119 

the ship ' Harvey Birch,' has been cooped up at Savannah 
for several months. Several times we have had reports of her 
running the blockade, and escaping seaward, — fabricated, 
doubtless, to mislead our blockading fleet, — but our lookouts 
along the coast have seen her quite often inside. She had a 
choice of three channels in her endeavor to escape, — by the 
Savannah River, past Pulaski, by the Wilmington River, or 
by the Ogeechee ; the two last named being connected with 
Savannah at high water by creeks. For several weeks past, 
she has been seen in the Ogeechee above Fort McAllister. 
By contrabands who have come in, w^e learn that the com- 
mander at Fort McAllister had high words with the captain 
of the ' Nashville,' accusing him of cowardice in not at- 
tempting to run the blockade. 

" On Saturday morning, the last day of February, a dense 
fog hung over the marshes, islands, and inlets of Ossabaw 
Sound. The ' Montauk ' lay at her anchorage, at the 
junction of the Great and Little Ogeechee Rivers : just below 
her, toward the sea, were the ' Seneca,' ' Flambeau,' ' Dawn,' 
' Sebago,' and ' Wisahickon.' The fog lifted about seven 
o'clock, and disclosed the ' Nashville ' aground above Fort 
McAllister. The ' Montauk ' up with her anchor, and 
steamed up stream. As she came within range of the fort, 
she received a furious fire, to which she paid no heed. Tak- 
ing a position fifteen hundred yards, or about three-fourths 
of a mile, distant from the ' Nashville,' and about half a mile 
from the fort, she opened upon the ' Nashville ' wdth both 
her guns. The ' Nashville ' replied with her hundred- 
pound rifle-gun. At the fifth shot, black smoke was seen 



120 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

issuing from the ' Nashville/ which increased in volume. 
The ' Montauk ' still kept up her fire, throwing six fifteen- 
inch and eight eleven-inch shells ; nearly all of which struck 
the fated steamer, which was soon in flames from stem to 
stern. She burned till the fire reached her magazine, when 
a terrific explosion tore her to pieces. By the negroes who 
have come in, we learn that she had about five hundred 
bales of cotton and a large amount of turpentine on board. 
The blackness of the smoke, and the rapidity with which the 
flames spread, make it a probable story. 

" Capt. Worden was strongly tempted to engage the fort : 
and his crew, elated v/ith what had been accomplished in so 
short a time, desired to continue the work ; but, knowing 
that the ' Passaic ' was on her way from Wilmington River 
to join in an attack, he quietly withdrew, paying no more 
attention to the shot falling around the ' Montauk/ and rat- 
tling against her sides, than if they were so many peas 
blown from a pop-gun. So the ' Nashville ' received her 
retribution." 

One after another, the gunboats and iron-clads of the 
rebels disappeared ; in many cases committing suicide, as it 
were, as did the monster " Merrimack," which was blown 
up in Norfolk Harbor by her owners, or rather the thieves 
who had her in possession. Thus did the " Diana," the 
" Queen of the West," and " Nashville " disappear. The 
following is Carleton's account of the destruction of two 
of these vessels : — 

" A short time after the battle of the morning had ceased, 
the famous ' Diana ' came pufiing up the Teche, and, laying 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY, 121 

in sight of our skirmishers, began to shell the woods in 
which our skirmishers lay. She was provided with good 
ammunition, because, forsooth, she was so lately stolen 
from Uncle Sam. Her firing was kept up continuously for 
several hours ; but, so far as heard from, only one man was 
injured by it, though her shells came in uncomfortable prox- 
imity to several impromptu hospitals in the edge of the 
woods. The skirmishers were hid behind the massive 
trunks of the live-oaks by the banks of the river, with 
orders to pick off the gunners if the vessel advanced far- 
ther up the bayou ; but the precaution was useless. Already 
her doom was written in the book of fate. A louder report 
than any of the rest startled us ; but no shell came crashing 
through the trees. The ' Diana ' — the prize over which so 
much Confederate joy had been wasted — was no more. 
Close pressed behind by Gen. Banks, and fearful of falling 
into Gen. Grover's trap by advancing, the rebels had applied 
the match ; and the explosion we heard was of her maga- 
zine, as her splintered planks and timbers littered the bayou 
and the adjacent shores, and 

* Down her black hulk did reel 
Through the black water.' 

" A Naval Victory. — The most brilliant thing of the 
whole campaign, or at least that on which most re- 
joicing is based, was the encounter between the ' Queen 
of the West ' and her comrades, and our fleet in Grand 
Gulf. I have the facts from one of the officers of the ' Ari- 
zona,' and give you his plain statement : ' Shortly after 
daybreak on Monday morning, the " Queen of the West," 



122 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND FEISON. 

with the " General Quitman " aud the "Lizzie Emmons," 
steamed down from Butte la Rose, on the Gulf, and showed 
signs of attempting to sink the " Arizona " and other vessels 
of our fleet. In the contest, a shot from the " Arizona " 
struck the rebel amidships, setting her on fire ; and, shortly 
after, she exploded. In the neighborhood of a hundred 
of the poor fellows on board were either drowned, or 
burned to death ; and some thirty were taken prisoners, 
including Capt. Jewett, whom the rebels take pride in styl- 
ing "the Paul Jones of the Southern waters ;" and Lieut. 
Semmes, second officer (supposed to be a son of the pirate). 
The engineer is a prisoner, but shockingly scalded. On 
witnessing this mishap, the other boats retreated as fast as 
possible, while the " Arizona " started in pursuit, but, fearing 
an ambuscade, wisely returned.' Thus it will be seen Provi- 
dence has not prospered the stealers of steamboats." 

Another rebel vessel met with like fate, near Baton 
Rouge. Gen. Butler, in thanking the Union troops, says, 
" To complete the victory, the iron-clad steamer ' Arkansas,' 
the last naval hope of the Rebellion, hardly awaited the 
gallant attack of the ' Essex,' but followed the example of 
her sisters, the ' Merrimack,' the ' Manassas,' the ' Missis- 
sippi,' and the Louisiana,' by her own destruction." 
The following is Admiral Farragut's own report : — 
" As soon as the enemy [on shore] was repulsed. Com- 
mander Porter, with the gunboats, went up stream after the 
ram ' Arkansas,' which was lying about five miles above, 
apparently afraid to take her share in the conflict. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 123 

" According to a preconcerted plan, as he came within 
gunshot, he opened on her, and probably soon disabled some 
of her machinery or steering apparatus ; for she became 
unmanageable, continuing, however, to fire guns at the 
' Essex/ 

" Commander Porter says he took advantage of her pre- 
senting a weak point towards him, and loaded his guns with 
incendiary shells. After his first discharge of this projec- 
tile, a gush of fire came out of her side ; and from that 
moment it was discovered that she was on fire, and he con- 
tinued his exertions to prevent it from being extinguished. 

" They backed her ashore, and made a line fast, which 
soon burnt, and she swung off into the river, where she con- 
tinued to burn, until she blew up with a tremendous explosion ; 
thus ending the career of the last iron-clad ram of the Mis- 
sissippi. 

" There were many persons on the banks of the river 
witnessing the fight, in which they anticipated a triumph for 
Secessia ; but, on the return of the ' Essex,' not a soul was to 
be seen. 

" I will leave a sufiicient force of gunboats to support the 
army, and will return to New Orleans, and depart immedi- 
ately for Ship Island, with a light heart that I have left no 
bugbear to torment the communities of the Mississippi in 
my absence. " D. G. Farragut." 

The admiral just mentioned is a moral as well as mili- 
tary hero. The following from a religious paper,* gives us 

* Parish Visitor. 



124 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

a delightful picture of one who has earned many laurels for 
his country : — 

" Admiral Farragut, in his recent successful attack on the 
forts in Mobile Bay, did a very heroic thing, and the nation 
rings with his praises. We delight to tell, and you delight 
to hear, how he lashed himself to the mast aloft. There, 
with his glass, did he study out his course of action, and 
from thence did he send down to the deck his orders. Not 
every man would have thought of such a post of observa- 
tion. The commander's place is usually upon the quarter- 
deck. The thought of the admiral which took him to the 
masthead was a very happy one. It was an ingenious and 
fertile expedient, and conduced much, undoubtedly, to his 
subsequent victory. 

"But he did another thing before he went to the mast- 
head to look sharp after the rebels, which was even more to 
his credit. We have one version of the action from the 
lips of the Secretary of State. This honorable gentleman 
recently made an address to his fellow-citizens in the interior 
of New York. He places this anecdote of Admiral FaiTagut 
among the first of his remarks. In view of the impending 
conflict, some of the officers of the fleet asked whether some 
rations of grog should not be served out to the men, — not 
enough to make them drunk, but some to enliven their spirits, 
and make them fight better. The admiral's reply was as 
quick and sharp and forcible as one of his broadsides : ' No, 
sir ! I never found that drinking spirits was necessary to a 
faithful discharge of duty. You may tell the men they shall 
have two cups of good coffee each at two o'clock to-morrow 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 125 

morning, just as we go into action ; and at eight o'clock we 
will breakfast in Mobile Bay, when they shall have more/ " 
The description, by " Carleton," of the naval battle which 
resulted in the recapture of Galveston, is of such interest as 
to justify quotation. Though the rebels gained a brief vic- 
tory on this occasion, yet the display of heroism and valor 
on the part of our loyal sailors was as great as if their 
efforts had been crowned with victory. 

"Attack on the 'Harriet Lane.' — About two o'clock, 
the foremost of the rebel gunboats turned, and seemed in- 
clined to go into Bolivar Channel, but did not do so ; 
probably being intimidated by the appearance of the trans- 
ports, of whose true character the enemy were ignorant. 
The enemy's boats increased : one after another they hove in 
sight through the mist that overhung the harbor, till finally 
appeared two rams and three lofty river boats, their sides 
walled up with three tiers of cotton-bales ; behind which, on 
each boat, were between two and three hundred blood-thirsty 
rebels, each man armed Avith two revolvers, a rifle, and a 
bowie-knife. They had been plied with liquor, and were 
more like demons than men, going about their bloody work. 
Three of the steamers, a ram, and two river boats, bore 
down upon the ' Harriet Lane,' which was now throwing 
shot and shell upon the rebel artillerymen on shore. The 
other two boats, on one of which was Gen. Magruder in 
person, lay off and on at the upper end of Pelican Island, 
watching the course of events below ; while away in the dis- 
tance, up the bay, rolled a turgid column of ominous smoke, 



126 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

a certain indication that another rebel steamer was ap- 
proaching. 

" The moon, which had all this time shed its pale rays 
over land and sea, rendering visible the steamers as they ap- 
proached, went down ; and a Cimmerian darkness enshroud- 
ed the scene. From out the blackness flashed the bright-red 
glare of the guns of the ' Harriet Lane,' the ' Sachem,' and 
' Owasco,' and the rebel artillery ; while the air resounded 
with a continuous cannonade, and reports of musketry 
flashed from the windows of buildings in which the rebel 
infantry and sharpshooters were concealed. 

" Now a simultaneous attack was made upon the little 
pet steamer ' Lane ' from the town and rebel boats. The 
former showed fight, and driving, stem on, into one of the 
large river boats, cracked her like a nut-shell. The rebel 
boats closed upon her ; and the infuriated soldiers poured a 
deadly fire of musketry upon decks, involving officers and 
men in the general slaughter. Her brave sailors were shot 
down at the guns by the rebels, who, rendered desperate by 
famine and Avhiskey, leaped on board ; when a scene of 
carnage and bloodshed ensued, which is without a parallel 
in the history of modern warface. Unable to cope with 
such superior numbers, — the enemy had at least three thou- 
sand men afloat, — the small remnant of the gallant crew 
were driven below, to be again forced on deck and butchered 
by the rebels, who, Avith bowie-knife and revolver, cut down 
all before them. The gallant and accomplished Wainwi'ight 
was shot through the knee : he rallied, and with his revolver 
despatched two rebel soldiers. He encouraged his men to 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 127 

fight, and shouted, ' Stand up to it, boys ! ' when a Confed- 
erate officer approached, and blew out his brains. The young 
and intrepid Lee was shot through the bowels, and fell mor- 
tally wounded. He cried out to his men, ' The enemy will 
give you no quarter : see that you give them none ! ' But 
what can men do against such fearful odds ? Eight and left 
the horrible butchery went on ; and the rebel officers, scarcely 
more human than their cut-throat minions, with difficulty 
prevented their men from setting up the few survivors as 



"The * Clifton' to the Rescue, — While this bloody 
business was going on on board the ' Lane,' the other Union 
gunboats were not idle. The ' Owasco ' hurled her iron 
missiles from her eleven-inch ' growler ; ' and the ' Sachem ' 
blazed away with her long 32's at the rebel steamers, which 
were on the other side and astern of the ' Lane.' The latter 
had disabled one of her adversaries, which sunk alongside : 
another got her head-gear entangled in the wheel of the 
' Lane.' 

" The ' Clifton,' unable to extricate the ' Westfield' from 
her situation, steamed down the channel on her way to the 
scene of attack. While she had been tugging at the ' West- 
field,' the rebels, crossing the island above the town, with 
heavy cannon drawn by ten-mule teams, had placed sev- 
eral guns in position behind an earthwork at Fort Point. 
Nothing was seen there when the ' Clifton ' passed the point 
on her way down ; but, as she neared it on her way up, the 
rebels opened fire from two heavy guns, to which she replied 



128 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

with energy. The men wqrked like heroes, surprising even 
Commander Law by the rapidity of their fire : they kept a 
shell in the air all the time, and dropped them into the rebel 
work with such precision as to effectually silence the rebel 
battery. The rebels are reported to have had forty pieces 
of artillery, which they brought to bear upon our gunboats 
and the barracks. The shore of Galveston Island flashed 
with their fire from the gas-works above the town down to 
Fort Point, and kept up an incessant fire ; while, from build- 
ings on shore, the rebel sharpshooters poured a galling fire 
upon the decks of our gunboats. 

" Those who were spectators of the engagement waited 
with intense anxiety for daylight. The guns of the ' Har- 
riet Lane ' had long been silent. The rebel steamers still 
lay alongside ; but no one outside of the ill-fated vessel knew 
whether she had captured them, or they had taken her. 
The rebel steamers above Pelican Island still lay smoking, 
evidently waiting to learn the result of the fighting." 

"Daylight and a Truce : Demand for a Surrender. 
— In the gray of dawn, the ' Owasco ' ran up her ensign : 
the 'Clifton^ and 'Sachem' did the same. The 'West- 
field' displayed the commander's pennon. This was a 
moment of doubt and fear, and all watched to see what 
reply came from the ' Harriet Lane.' The first faint streaks 
of light discovered to the anxious and now despondent 
spectators a white flag flying from the ' Lane,' and the 
small remnant of her crew who had survived the fearful 
slaughter placed by the rebels in such a position that 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 129 

the fire from any of our vessels must have been fatal to 
them. 

" A boat put off from the ' Lane/ in which were a rebel 
officer, Capt. Lovereux, and Acting Master Hannam, who, 
with eleven, were the sole survivors of her devoted officers 
and crew. They proceeded to the ' Clifton,' where the rebel 
officer, informing Capt. Law that the ' Harriet Lane ' had 
been captured, her commander killed, her executive officer 
mortally wounded, and her second officer severely wounded, 
demanded the surrender of all the Federal vessels in port, 
with the exception of one to be selected by the vanquished, 
and in which they were to depart with all their people, and 
leave the entire coast of Texas. The rebel officer further 
stated, that the ' Harriet Lane ' and tliree other steamers 
were ready to move against the Federal ships, provided they 
were not surrendered. 

" Capt. Law proceeded to the ' Westfield ' to refer the 
matter to Commander Rensliaw, who, as may be supposed, 
scorned to accept the terms, and refused to surrender to the 
enemy." 

"Preparations to evacuate. — Soon after the above 
interview. Commander Renshaw sent a boat to the ' Mary 
Boardman,' requesting the privilege of transferring his 
officers and crew, and a portion of the ship's furniture, per- 
sonal effects, and such other articles as could be easily 
moved, on board of that vessel ; at the same time informing 
Capt. Weir of the ' Boardman ' that he intended to blow 
up his ship, which was still aground, and could not be got 



130 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

off till the next flood-tide, if then, to prevent her from falling 
into the hands of the enemy, who were now preparing to 
advance in full force upon them. The request was granted ; 
and the crew and baggage were transferred to the ' Board- 
man,' which was all the while under way, lying near the 
' Westfield.' In the mean time, the rebel steamers up the 
bay, confident of their victory, steamed down to the scene 
of the engagement. The Federal boats at the same time 
commenced to drop down the channel ; seeing which, the 
rebels re-opened their batteries upon them. The battery 
at Fort Point fired into the bark ' Cavallo,' and sunk her at 
her anchors. 

" Soon after ten o'clock in the morning, the rebel rams 
began to move down toward Fort Point, and Commander 
Renshaw immediately sent word to the ' Boardman ' to be 
ready to leave the harbor as soon as the ' Westfield's ' men 
were all on board. The ' Sachem ' fought her way past the 
shore-batteries in splendid style : the coolness and bravery 
of her commander, Acting Master Amos Johnson, excited 
the admiration of all who witnessed the affair, if we may 
except the rebels themselves, who could not have failed to 
appreciate the intrepidity which he displayed. The ' Clif- 
ton' proceeded down the channel as far as Fort Point, 
where Capt. Law slowed down for the purpose of drawing 
the fire of the enemy, if he showed any disposition to attack 
the transports as they passed out." 

" Blowing-up of the 'Westfield.' — As soon as it had 
been decided to blow up the 'Westfield,' Commander Ren- 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 131 

sliaw gave the order to clear the ship, and a scene of con- 
fusion followed. The men hastily collected their clothing 
and other articles, and, thrusting them into bags, tossed bags, 
hammocks, small arms, furniture, and various personal 
effects, into the boats, which went back and forth between 
the 'Westfield' and 'Boardman.' The 'Saxon' took off 
some forty odd officers and men ; and the remainder of the 
crew that succeeded in getting clear of the ' Westfield ' went 
on board the 'Boardman.' Among the latter was Acting 
Master Smalley, who deserves great credit for the skill and 
coolness he displayed in bringing the ' Boardman ' out of the 
harbor. 

■ " The decks of the ' Westfield ' were covered with turpen- 
tine, trains were laid to the magazine, which were opened, 
and the safety-valves of the boilers were chained down, to 
make the total destruction of the vessel more certain. The 
magazines were full of powder ; there were one hundred 
loaded shells on deck ; and the guns were loaded for 
action. A fire was lighted on the gun-deck forward, and 
the ship abandoned. The captain's gig was alongside, con- 
taining Lieut. Zimmerman, Chief Engineer Green, Kelli- 
han, the quarter-gunner, and the gig's crew, waiting for 
Commander Renshaw, who had been once in the gig, but 
had just set foot on the ladder as if to go back, when 
the vessel blew up with a tremendous explosion. Frag- 
ments of shot and shell, splinters of timber, were hurled 
to an immense height ; and what remained of the shattered 
hull settled as if forced down by an enormous weight. 
A vast column of flame and smoke shot up, and hid the ill- 



132 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

fated vessel from sight. "When the smoke cleared away, no 
vestige was seen of the boat, w^hich, but a moment before, 
had been freighted with so many brave men. Officers and 
men had found a common grave with their beloved vessel. 
Their fate was involved with that of their noble ship. 

" It is plain that the explosion of the after-magazine was 
premature, and not apprehended by any of those who were 
lost. The scene on board the transports was sad in the 
extreme. The sailors from the ill-starred gunboat la- 
mented the loss of their officers and comrades, exclaiming, 
'Poor Zimmerman, poor Zimmerman! — and the captain 
too ! ' One old boatswain's mate, who had grown gray in 
the service of his country, while the tears coursed down his 
cheeks, cried out, ' I had rather have spilt my blood and 
left my bones on board the " Westfield '* with the old man, 
than got off in this w^ay.' The ' Westfield ' blew up at thir- 
teen minutes of nine, a.m. ; a sorrowful finale to the tragic 
performances with which the rebels ushered in the new 
year." 

Victory in South Carolina. — To offset this account 
of a Union defeat, a graphic description of the Union vic- 
tory at Port Royal, S.C., is here given, from the pen of one 
who w^as on board the United-States steamer '' Pocahontas" 
at the time of the engagement : — 

"Port Eoyal, S.C, Nov. 9, 1861. 
" To tlie Editor of the ' Boston Journal^ — 

" Our expedition left Qld Point on the morning of the 
29th ult., — a beautiful morning ; and, though Ave had quite 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 133 

a severe gale on the 30th, the fleet kept together until the 
1st inst., when we experienced a very severe gale, which 
scattered the fleet, or at least scattered us from the fleet ; 
and we saw no more of our companions, with the exception 
of one or two transports, till the morning of the 7th. At 
daylight, off Savannah, we chased away a secession steamer 
which seemed to have a fell design upon the schooner 
' Western Star ' of BostxDu, which we took in tow, and 
coaled ship from her, till, as we neared Port-Royal entrance, 
we heard the boom of heavy ordnance, and soon saw the 
white smoke as it curled up in the still morning air. It is 
needless to say that the schooner was dropped. We put on 
all steam, not even hoisting our boats, and were soon up to 
the entrance, which we found buoyed temporarily on each 
side the channel : so we stood directly in. 

'' We could distinguish the ' Wabash,' our flag-ship, pour- 
ing in a most deadly fire, also the ' Susquehanna,' ' Mohican,* 
and several other gunboats. 

" The forts were firing rapidly from both sides ; but the 
ships did not appear to be much injured, none of them hav- 
ing lost their masts. We passed the transports lying at 
anchor, well clear of the contest, outside ; and, as we dashed 
by at full speed, we received the cheers of thousands 
eager for the fray, but unable to participate. 

" Forward we went, our men at quarters all eager to get 
their first pop at South Carolina ; and, as soon as our long 
ten-inch pivot-gun could be brought to bear, we sent our 
first compliment to Fort Walker. They held their fire on 
both sides till we got midway between both forts ; and then 



134 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

for ten or fifteen minutes they rained grape, rifle-shot, and 
hollow shot upon us in a manner very romantic indeed, but 
more agreeable to think about afterward than when one is 
under it. We had no white feathers on board, though, to 
show ; and our captain is brave as a lion and full of spirit 
when under fire. Capt. Drayton is a South-Carolinian, as 
true as steel ; and we pelted away at them from both sides 
in a most gratifying manner to ourselves at least. After 
the capture of the forts, we found that Gen. Drayton, in 
command of this district, was our captain's own brother, 
and that he had, besides, two other relatives engaged in the 
secession cause at this place. Such patriotism as this is 
soul-cheering in these times, and a stinging reproach to a 
Northern 'peace man. Our ship received three shots aloft, 
one of which ruined the mainmast ; but they first rained 
shot over our heads as we ran the gantlet of the forts. 

" Once inside, we hauled in under Fort Walker, out of 
near range of the guns on Bay Point, leaving us but one 
side to fight ; and in about half an hour, during which time 
a perfect storm of shell was thrown into every part of the 
fort, they left their guns, and ran quicker than our tired men 
did at Bull Run. They can run some, even in a South- 
Carolina morass ; but they looked very ridiculous, and as if 
they had no stomach for a Yankee hunt, in which they are 
said to delight so much. A naval ofiicer from the ' Wabash' 
landed with a flag of truce ; and the sailors scrambled to a 
house-top, and flung the glorious old flag to the breeze. 
Cheer on cheer went up from the thousands on ship-board ; 
and a portion of South Carolina was again redeemed from 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 135 

its disgrace by being covered by an honorable flag and an 
honorable people." 

The brilliant descriptions which " Carleton " gives of the 
Union attack on Sumter in 1863, and of the capture of 
Beaufort, S.C., cannot be omitted ; for they display the 
seamanship and valor of our brave navy boys in a style to 
awaken hearty praise. The following is the description 
of the taking of Beaufort : — 

" At five minutes before ten o'clock, the Hilton-Head bat- 
tery opened fire on the ' "Wabash : ' in three minutes after, 
another shot from the battery. Still the ships stood on, and 
did not, apparently, notice the efforts of the rebels, until the 
' "Wabash ' came in good range with the face of the battery ; 
when she fired a shell at them, which struck close to the 
battery. In a few minutes, the ' "Wabash ' opened a smart 
fire, throwing her shells into the woods, where the rebels 
were encamped in some force. After firing a few guns to 
ascertain the range, she opened a broadside fire on both 
batteries, which was one of the finest sights ever witnessed 
in this country. How the troops did cheer ! It was hearty 
and long. The other vessels now opened their fire, and the 
shells fell thick and fast into the battery. 

" The rebel steamers now opened a smart fire, and it was 
the subject of general remark, — the fine shots they made. 
The small gunboats now steamed rapidly ahead, and opened 
on them with their ten and eleven inch pivot-guns. At fif- 
teen minutes past ten o'clock, the fire was so hot, that they up 
helm, and started for Broad River ; the gunboats chasing 



136 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

them. By this time, the shells were bursting in the Bay- 
Point battery at the rate of about two a minute, to which 
the rebels replied with rapidity and great execution. 

"The flag-ship and her division were rapidly drawing up 
to the point around which they were to turn, so that they 
could come down along the shore, and engage the Hilton- 
Head battery ; while the small gunboats took up independent 
positions, and battered away at Bay Point and the rebel 
naval vessels. As the ' Wabash' turned, so that her broad- 
side could bear upon the rebel fleet, she opened upon them, 
and soon sent them up the river for a time at least. About 
this time, the ' Vandalia ' came up in range ; and she deliv- 
ered a splendid broadside to the Bay-Point rebels, several 
of her shells making the sand fly inside of the works. She 
kept up a galling fire upon them until out of reach, when 
she devoted her attention to the rebel navy. During this 
time, the 'Wabash,' 'Susquehanna,' and 'Bienville' had 
come around, and were close upon the Hilton-Head battery. 
All eyes were upon these vessels, especially as we saw 
plainly that they were steering so as to come within six 
hundred yards of the rebels' guns, some of which we knew 
were excellent rifled pieces of the most approved patterns. 

"At about twenty minutes before eleven o'clock, the 
' Wabash ' commenced operations on the Hilton-Head bat- 
tery in good earnest, delivering a broadside at one command. 
All her gun-deck armament is nine-inch shell guns ; while on 
her spar-deck they are eight-inch shell guns, witl^^a ten-inch 
pivot aft, and a sixty-eight rifled Dahlgren gun on the fore- 
castle. The noise was terrific, while the bursting of the 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 137 

shells was as terrible as it was destructive. I counted no 
less than forty shells bursting at one time, and that right 
in the battery and in the woods, where about eight hundred 
rebels lay. In addition to this, the 'Susquehanna,' with 
her tremendous battery, aided by the 'Bienville,' the 'Paw- 
nee,* and half a dozen smaller gunboats, was making the 
air brown with the sand, while the blue smoke of the explo- 
sions went to make up a most magnificent sight. 

"The troops were wild with enthusiasm ; and with deaf- 
ening cheers they applauded the boldness and courage of the 
gallant naval officer. A moment or two elapsed, — just time 
enough to load the guns, — and again the scene was enacted 
afresh. The rebels replied with seven guns, which were 
worked splendidly ; and from appearances they did consider- 
able execution. After the second broadside, the firing be- 
came less concerted ; and it seemed as if each division on 
all the vessels were endeavoring to outvie each other in the 
rapidity with which they worked their guns. 

"The tide drifted the vessels quite fast by the battery; 
but they backed them considerably, so as to remain as long 
as possible : and at eleven o'clock they had reached as near 
to the reef as it was safe to go ; and they were obliged to 
haul off" to again take up their position, but giving them an- 
other broadside as they turned. To do this, a track, circu- 
lar in form, and extending nearly five miles, must be sailed 
over. The Bay-Point battery must again be passed, where 
there were several fine rifled cannon, which were well 
served ; and the navy of the Confederates must receive their 
due share of the shells which were destined to be expended 



138 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

on the day's work. To this duty they undauntedly steamed 
up, while the little gunboats fought the steamers. 

" About this time, the firing on both sides materially di- 
minished. Occasionally the rebels fired from either battery, 
wiiicli was replied to by the gunboats. As the ' Wabash ' 
and her consorts rounded to, to come down again and pitch 
into the battery where they had made such a beautiful dis- 
play of their skill, the troops again gave vent to their feel- 
ings in tones not to be mistaken. It appeared that with 
such a terrible fire poured in upon them they could not 
stand, and in the course of a few hours the stars and stripes 
must wave on the ' sacred soil ' of South Carolina. 

" At half-past eleven, they drew near to the Hilton-Head 
battery again ; the rebels keeping up a brisk fire upon them 
as they approached. Occasionally the pivot-guns of the 
'Wabash' and the 'Susquehanna* threw a shell into the 
battery ; but the grand afiair was yet to come. At ten min- 
utes before twelve o'clock, again the ships were enveloped in 
a dense cloud of white smoke ; and, in a few seconds after, 
the shells were bursting into the battery in a splendid man- 
ner. The sand was flying in every direction ; and it seemed 
impossible that any one could be saved from death who was 
within the walls of the battery. The rebels now worked 
only two guns ; but I will give them the credit of working 
them beautifully. This style of fighting lasted just twenty 
minutes ; and in that time over two hundred shells had burst 
over their heads and in the works. At ten minutes past 
twelve, again the ships hauled off, firing a parting round as 
they left. 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 139 

"At twenty minutes past twelve, the Bay-Point battery 
opened fire on the ' Wabash ' as she passed up to take her 
position. Five minutes afterwards, the gunboats opened a 
terrible volley of shells on Hilton Head, breaching it in sev- 
eral places, and dismounting one of the guns. This display 
of gunnery was a grand sight, and was only second to the 
broadside firing of the other ships. The gunboats kept up 
this kind of work several minutes, when they eased down, 
and fired at intervals, so that there was a shell striking 
about once a minute. 

" At ten minutes of one, not a rebel boat was to be seen ; 
and from appearances they had gone behind the Point to 
take on board the troops, who could not stand another round 
of broadside-firing. The battery was badly damaged, and 
the houses and tents bore the marks of shells ; and it looked 
as if there was a stampede in the rebel camp. At five min- 
utes of two o'clock, the ' Wabash ' and her consorts were in 
position to advance ; but they remained quiet, and let the 
gunboats pepper away at the battery, which only replied with 
one gun, which looked as if they were only firing to deceive 
us while they embarked their forces. At two o'clock we 
weighed anchor, and got still closer in, feeling assured that 
they had become pretty well used up, and would not or 
could not injure us. 

"The transports now launched their surf-boats, nearly 
one hundred in number, and placed the crews in them, all 
ready to commence disembarking the troops. 

"At twenty minutes of three o'clock, a boat — the whale- 
feoat of the ' Wabash ' — was manned, and with a white flag 



140 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

flying over the bow, and Commander John Rodgers in the 
stern, started for the shore. I can assure you that every 
stroke of the oars was watched by thousands of anxious 
people. She strikes the beach. Capt. Rodgers, borne on 
the backs of true and trusty tars, with the stars and stripes 
floating over his head, and a large ensign, goes on shore ; and, 
at three d'cloch j)vecisely, the stars and stripes luave in tri- 
umph over South -Carolina soil and a deserted rebel battery. 
A glorious and brilliant naval victory has been won. All 
honor to the gallant seamen of the United-States Navy ! 

" As soon as the good old flag was seen from on shipboard, 
our boys gave nine rousing cheers, and they were taken up 
from ship to ship ; and the band saluted the flag with the 
' Star-spangled Banner ' and ' Hail Columbia,' &c. For 
an hour, the cheers of the patriotic soldiers made the air re- 
sound. Again we got under way, and proceeded to within 
a half-mile of the shore, and anchored ; and the debarkation 
was commenced, and until long after dark the work went on." 
The following is a description of the attack on Sumter : — 
" At half-past one, p.m., the signal for sailing was dis- 
played from the flag-ship. The ' Weehawken,' with a raft at 
her prow, immediately got under way, and moved rapidly 
up the main channel, followed by the others, which main- 
tained their respective positions, distant from each other 
about one-third or half of a mile. There are no clouds of can- 
vas, no beautiful models of marine architecture, none of the 
stateliness and majesty which has marked hundreds of great 
naval engagements. There is but little to the sight calcu- 
lated to excite enthusiasm. There are eight black specks 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 14f 

and one oblong block gliding along the water, like so many- 
bugs. There are no human beings in sight, no propelling 
power visible. 

" Sumter has discovered them, and discharges in quick suc- 
cession nine signal-guns to announce to all Rebeldom that 
the attack is to be made. Morris Island is mysteriously 
silent as the ' Weehawken ' advances, although she is within 
range. Past Fort Wagner, straight on toward Moultrie, the 
' Weehawken ' moves. The silence is prolonged. It is almost 
painful, the calm before the storm, the hushed stillness 
before the burst of the tornado. 

" There comes a single puff of smoke from Moultrie, one 
deep reverberation. The silence is broken : the moments, 
the long months of waiting, are over. The shot flies across 
the water, skipping from wave to wave, tossing up foun- 
tains, hopping over the deck of the ' Weehawken,' and rolling 
along the surface with a diminishing ricochet, sinking at 
last close upon the Morris - IslanUl Beach. Fort Wagner 
continues the story, sending a shot at the ' Weehawken : ' 
it also trips lightly over the deck, and tosses up a water- 
spout far toward Moultrie. The ' Weehawken,' unmindful 
of this play, opened its ports, and sent a fifteen-inch solid 
shot toward Sumter, which, like those which have been hurled 
toward her, takes a half-dozen steps, making for a moment 
its footprints on the water, and crashes against the south-west 
face of the fort, followed a moment later by its eleven-inch 
companion. The vessel is for a moment enveloped in the 
smoke of its guns. Bravely done ! There comes an an- 
swer. Moultrie, the tremendous batteries on either side by 



142 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the hotel and east of it, and toward the inner harbor, burst 
in an instant into sheets of flame, and clouds of sulphurous 
smoke. There is one long roll of thunder, peal on peal ; 
deep, heavy reverberations and sharp concussions rattling the 
windows of our steamers, and striking us at the heart like 
hammer-strokes. 

"The ocean boils. Columns.of spray are tossed high in 
air, as if a hundred submarine fountains were let instant- 
ly on, or a school of whales were trying which could spout 
highest. There is a screaming in the air, a buzzing and 
humming never before so loud. 

"At five minutes before three, Moultrie began the fire. 
Ten minutes have passed. The thunder has rolled inces- 
santly from Sullivan's Island. Thus far, Sumter has been 
silent ; but now it is crowned with a cloud. In an instant it 
is hid from view ; first a line of light along its parapet, and 
thick folds of smoke unrolling like fleeces of wool. Other 
flashes burst from the casemates ; and the clouds creep down 
the wall to the water, then slowly float away to mingle with 
that rising from the furnaces in the sand along the shore of 
Sullivan's Island. 

" You almost think the earth's crust has ruptured, and 
the volcanic fires, long pent, have suddenly found vent. 

" It was the first grand round. Then comes a calm, a mo- 
mentary cessation. The rebel gunners wait for the breeze 
to clear away the cloud, that they may obtain a view of the 
monitor to see if it has not been punched into a sieve, and 
is disappearing beneath the waves. But the ' Weehawken ' is 
there moving straight on up the channel, turned now toward 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 143 

Moultrie. Nothing has happened. To her it has been only 
a handful of peas or gravel-stones or pebbles. Some 
have rattled against her turret, some upon her deck, some 
against her sides. Instead of going to the bottom, she re- 
volves her turret, and speaks two words to Moultrie, moving 
on the while to gain the south-eastern wall of Sumter. 

" Again the forts and batteries begin, joined now by Cum- 
mings Point and long ranges from Fort Johnson. All 
around the ' Weehawken ' the shot flash, plunge, hop, skip, 
falling like the rain-drops of a summer shower. How quickly 
the ' Wabash,' the 'Minnesota,' or any one of the wooden ships 
of the navy, would be bored through and through from port 
to port, from bow to stern, from deck to keel, by the point- 
blank and plunging shot, converging from more than ninety 
degrees of the circle, — be made into kindlings, sent sky-high 
by a shell in boiler or magazine, or to the bottom of the 
channel, by the opening of barn-doors in the hull ! Un- 
harmed, undaunted, she moves straight on, feeling her way, 
moving slowly, with grappling-irons dragging from the raft 
in front to catch up torpedoes. It is for the ' Weeh^iwken ' to 
clear the channel, and make smooth sailing for the re- 
mainder of the fleet. Two torpedoes explode, — so much 
wasted powder, nothing more ! 

" To get the position of the ' Weehawken ' at this moment, 
spread out your map of Charleston Harbor, draw a line from 
Cummings Point to Moultrie, and stick a pin on the line a 
little nearer Moultrie than to Morris Island. It is about 
one-half a mile from Moultrie, about one-third of a mile 
from Sumter. 



144 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

*' There she is, — the target of probably two hundred and 
fifty or three hundred guns at close range, of the heaviest 
caliber, rifled cannon throwing forged bolts and steel-pointed 
shot, turned and polished to a hair in the lathes of English 
workshops, — advancing still, undergoing her first ordeal, a 
trial unparalleled in history ! 

"For fifteen minutes, she meets the ordeal alone : but, the 
channel found to be clear, the ' Passaic,' the ' Montauk,' and 
' Patapsco ' follow, closing up the line ; each coming in range, 
and delivering their fire upon Sumter. At twenty minutes 
past three, the four monitors composing the right wing of 
the fleet are all engaged, each pressing on to reach the north- 
eastern face of the fort, where the wall is weakest ; each re- 
ceiving, as they arrive at particular points, a terrible fire, 
seemingly from all points of the compass, — points selected 
by trial and practice indicated by buoys. They pass the 
destructive latitudes unharmed. Seventy guns a minute are 
counted, followed by moments of calm and scattering shots, 
but only to break out again in a prolonged roar of thunder. 
They press on, making nearer and nearer to Sumter, nar- 
rowing the distance to one thousand yards, eight hundred, 
six, five, four hundi'ed yards, and send their fifteen-inch 
shot crashing against the fort with slow, sure, deliberate, 
effective fire. 

"At first the fort and the batteries and Moultrie seem to 
redouble their efforts in increasing the fire ; but after an hour 
there is a perceptible diminution of the discharges from the 
fort. After each shot from the iron-clads, clouds of dust can 
be discerned rising above the fort, and mingling with the 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 145 

smoke. Steadying mj glass in the lulls of the strife, watch- 
ing where the south-west breeze whiffs away the smoke, I 
can see increasing pock-marks and discolorations upon the 
walls, as if there had been a sudden breaking-out of cuta- 
neous disease. 

"The flag-ship, di'awing seventeen feet of water, was 
obliged to move cautiously, feeling her way up the channel. 
Just as she came within range of Moultrie, her keel touched 
bottom on the east side of the channel. Fearing that she 
would run aground, the anchor was let go. Finding the ves- 
sel was clear, the admiral again moved on, signalling the 
left wing to press forward to the aid of the four already en- 
gaged. The ' Ironsides ' kept the main channel, which brought 
her within about one thousand yards of Moultrie and Sum- 
ter. She fired four guns at Moultrie, and received in return 
a heavy fire. Again she touched bottom, and then turned 
her bow across the channel toward Sumter, firing two guns 
at Cummings Point. After this weak and inefiectual effort, 
the tide rapidly ebbing the while, she again got clear, but 
gave up the attempt to advance. The ' Catskill,' ' Nantucket,* 
' Nahant,' and ' Keokuk ' pressed up with all possible speed to 
aid the four, which were receiving a tremendous hammering. 

" See them sweep past the convergent points and radial 
lines ! See the bubbling of the water, the straight col- 
umns thrown up in the sunlight, the flashes, the furrows 
along the waves, as if a plough, driven with lightning speed, 
was turning up the water ! They are all close up to Sum- 
ter, within four or five hundred yards. Behind them is 
Moultrie and Fort Ripley and Fort Beauregard, flashing, 

10 



146 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

smoking, bellowing ; in front is Sumter ; and in the back- 
ground, Fort Wagner and Cummings Point. Across the 
shallow waters is Fort Johnson ; still farther off to the 
right is Castle Pickney, too far away to do damage, but, as 
you have seen curs at a grand fight of bull-dogs, harmlessly 
snarling, growling, and yelping, and making believe they 
are doing something. From all sides, the balls fall around 
the fleet. The din of uproar is nearly all on one side. 
Calmly and deliberately the fire is returned, — a deliberation 
which must command the admiration of the enemy. 

" The ' Keokuk ' presents a fair mark with her sloping sides 
and double turrets. She comes to the ordeal bravely. Her 
commander, Capt. Rhind, although not having entire con- 
fidence in her invulnerability, is determined to come to close 
quarters. She is not to be outdone by those who are in 
advance. Swifter than they, drawing less water, she makes 
all haste to get up with the ' Weehawken.' The guns which 
have been trained upon the others are brought to bear upon 
her. AYhere she sails, there the shower is hardest, the fire 
fiercest. Her plating is but pine-wood to the steel projec- 
tiles, flying with almost the swiftness of a Minie bullet. 
Shot which glance harmlessly from the others penetrate her 
angled sides. Her after-turret is pierced in a twinkling, and 
a two-hundred-pound projectile dropped inside. A heavy shot 
crashes into the surgeon's dispensary, and mixes emetics, 
cathartics, pill, and powders, not according to prescriptions. 
The enemy notices the effect of his shot, and increases his 
fire. Capt. Rhind is not easily daunted. He opens his for- 
ward turret, and gives three shot in return for the three or 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 147 

four hundred rained around him. The sea with every pass- 
ing wave sweeps through the shot-holes ; and he must retire, 
or go to the bottom with all on board. 

" Meanwhile the signal has been displayed from the flag- 
ship for the retirement of the fleet. It comes seemingly at 
an inopportune moment ; for the fire of the fort is evidently 
on the wane. Moultrie and all the guns of Sullivan Island 
are still bellowing ; but Sumter has few flashes, a cloud of 
smoke less dense than an hour ago. Capt. Ammen is con- 
fident that he has sent a shot clear through the wall ; that a 
gun is silenced. There is but little diminution of the fire 
of the fleet. It is, as it has been, slow and steady ; but 
the ' Keokuk ' is moving out of range : the ' Ironsides ' has not 
been in. It is past five o'clock, — almost sunset. Never in 
the history of the world has there been such a two and a 
half hours' hammering of iron. There is the imperative 
order flying above the flag-ship * Retire.' They obey. It is 
twenty minutes past five o'clock when the last guns are fired, 
— - an exchange of shots with Cummings Point. 

" The uproar has ceased. The fleet is at anchor. The 
monitors of the right swing within range of Fort Wagner. 
On Sullivan's Island, the sulphurous clouds still linger. The 
red sun sinks behind the sand-hills, and we who have watched 
every changing feature of the attack welcome the coming- 
on of silence." 

Some of the gallant exploits of our navy have not been 
mentioned ; but again it must be said, *' The half has not been 
told." Our brave tars have " covered themselves with 
honor " on every sea where they fought. 



148 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

It may be well to add a few words in regard to some of 
the leaders in our navy. The following has been published 
concerning two of them. The anecdotes are characteristic, 
and probably correct. 

Admiral Farragut is a native of Tennessee. The " Louis- 
ville Journal " gives the following notice of his career : — 

" In childhood he was adopted by the late Commodore 
David Porter, receiving his baptismal name ; and is thus the 
brother adoptive of Capt. J. D. Porter, of the ' Essex,' in our 
flotilla, and of Lieut. Porter, in command of the mortar- 
fleet at the mouth of the Mississippi. Though only twelve 
years of age, he was on the ' Essex,' at Valparaiso, in 1814, 
in that inost gallant naval fight, and was specially com- 
mended to the department for his brave deportment. An 
anecdote told of him, though trifling, indicates character. 
After the surrender, a pig which he claimed was carried off 
by a midshipman of the British frigate ' Phebe.' Young 
Farragut appealed to the British captain for restitution, and 
received for reply, that he could do nothing about it, but that 
he might go and whip the middy. ' Is that all ? ' said the 
lad ; and, acting on the leave given, instantly whipped the 
aggressor, and carried off his pig. 

" He has been almost constantly in active service. Dur- 
ing the years 1821-4, he was employed in cruising after 
pirates in the Caribbean Sea, and distinguished himself by 
most efficient service and gallantry. He was for some time 
in command of the ' Brooklyn ' at the Vera-Cruz station, 
at the time of the mission of Mr. McLean to Mexico. He 
was twice married in Norfolk, Va., and is the owner of a 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 149 

large property in that rebel city ; but before tlie outbreak, 
and to avoid entanglements, he removed his family from 
Norfolk to a cottage on the Hudson, whence he was called 
to active duty in putting down the Rebellion. He is a most 
accomplished officer, versed in every point of his profession, 
and most energetic in all naval duties. He speaks with 
fluency five or six modern languages ; and, sailor as he is, is 
a gentleman of fine scholarly taste and acquirements.* 

" Commander Charles S. Boggs, of the United-States gun- 
boat ' Varuna,' which was sunk in the recent eno:ao;enient 
wdth the enemy at New Orleans, where he attacked thirteen 
gunboats of the rebels, and sunk six of them, and his last 
shot, fired when his deck was under water, sunk a gunboat 
of the rebels, is a native of New Brunswick, N. J. When 
a lad, he told his father he wished to go into the navy. 
His father said to him, ' You are too clumsy : you would 
fall into the water from the deck.' The next morning his 
father saw him on the roof of the house : he had climbed 

* " Vice- Admiral Farragut has his headquarters at the Navy Yard in 
Brooklyn. He is chiefly now employed on court-martials, of which he is 
President. He suffers greatly from an affection of the eyes, resulting from 
a sunstroke received on the coast of Africa when he was quite young. His 
immense correspondence has to be carried on by other hands, he being un- 
able to write. The glare of public audience-rooms is very painful to him. 
He is bored almost to death by applications for his presence at public meet- 
ings where a crowd is needed. Although both travel and gaslight ai-e ex- 
ceedingly distressing to him, yet such is his kindness of heart, that he rai-ely 
refuses an invitation to a meeting that has a beneficent aim. He left tho 
city to-day for Philadelphia to meet Gen. Grant, and with him inaugurate 
an institution for the benefit of disabled soldiers and sailors." — Boston- 
Journal correspondent. 



150 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the lightning-rod, going up hand over hand. His mother 
was a sister of the gallant Lawrence, of the 'Chesapeake.' 

" It will be observed that both of these officers have had 
ancestors which might account for their fighting qualities ; 
one being a member of the family of the elder Porter, and 
the other a relative of the heroic Lawrence." 

Admiral Foote was another hero : he has gone up higher. 
The following is the official order concerning the late 
Admiral Foote : — 

Washington, June 27, 1863. 
General Orders^ No. 19. 

A gallant and distinguished naval officer is lost to the 
country. The hero of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson ; the 
daring and indomitable spirit that created and led to suc- 
cessive victories the Mississippi flotilla ; the heroic Christian 
sailor, who, in the China seas and on the coast of Africa, 
as well as the great interior rivers of our country, sustained 
with unfaltering fidelity and devotion the honor of our flag 
and the cause of the Union ; Rear-Admiral Andrew Hull 
Foote, — is no more. 

On his way to take the command of the South- Atlantic 
squadron, a position to which he had been recently assigned, 
and the duties of which were commanding the earnest ener- 
gies of a mind of no ordinary character, he w^as suddenly 
prostrated by disease, and, after a brief illness, breathed his 
last at the Astor House, in New York, on the evening of the 
26th instant. 

Among the noble and honored dead whose names have 
added lustre to our naval renown, and must ever adorn our 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 151 

national annals, few will stand more prominent than that of 
the gallant and self-sacrificing Christian sailor and gentle- 
man whose loss we now deplore. 

Appreciating his virtues and his services, a grateful 
country had rendered him, while living, its willing honors, 
and will mourn his death. As a mark of respect, it is 
hereby ordered that the flags at the several navy-yards, 
naval-stations, and on the flag-ships of the squadrons, be 
hoisted at half-mast, and that thirteen guns be fired at 
meridian, on the day after the receipt of this order. 
(Signed) Gideon Welles, 

Secretary of the Navy, 

Admiral Foote was as eminent in piety as in arms. This 
incident is related of him : — 

" On the Sabbath after the capture of Fort Henry, quite 
a large congregation had assembled at the little Presbyterian 
Church in Cairo. They waited a long time for the regular 
preacher to come and open the services, but waited in vain ; 
and it soon became apparent that they were to go home 
sermonless. Just then, the old flag-officer, as he was then, 
appeared, went forward to the sacred desk, and opened the 
service with prayer. It was very hard for the audience to 
restrain their applause when he appeared in the aisle, 
coming as he did from the scene of strife, and the winner 
of a victory whose merits were upon every tongue ; but, 
the first buzz of wondering over, the congregation bowed in 
silence and awe, the more marked because of the strange- 
ness of the coincidence. Hardly forty-eight hours before, 



152 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the old veteran was hotly engaged in dealing death and 
destruction to the enemy at Fort Henry : now he stood 
before the people in the character of a preacher of the 
gospel of peace. But the prayer was not all. After the 
hymn, he took his text from Acts xiv. 1 , and preached such 
a sermon as had not been heard before for years. Clear, 
calm, logical, he proved, in truly eloquent diction, that the 
happiness of man depended upon the condition of the heart, 
and not upon worldly prosperity or adversity. After the 
sermon, the congregation vied with each other in endeavors 
to reach him to congratulate him upon his success in the 
late action ; but the old veteran met them with a peculiar 
look, as much as to say, ' This is the Sabbath Day, and this 
is God's house, and no time or place to glory over the down- 
fall of an enemy.' 

" Some days before his death, he stated that he had bnt 
little time to live, and felt that he was gradually sinking. 
He was anxious that Admiral Dupont should be informed 
that he had not intrigued to obtain command of the 
squadron. The two were warm friends. He bore his 
painful sickness with Christian fortitude and meekness, and 
felt that he was going to a better land, and to scenes more 
delightful than he had enjoyed ; and, in that f\xith, he who 
never sacrificed a life needlessly, and had no blood on his 
hands, who never went to battle without having his soul 
prepared by prayer, sank quietly and peacefully to his 
rest." 

Of Dupont the " Philadelphia North- American " says, — 
" No one was as well qualified for the head of the great 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 153 

expedition as Commodore Dtipont. His wliole heart is 
in his country's troubles ; and he would cheerfully die, as 
the gallant Lyon did, to promote her welfare. He entered the 
navy as a midshipman when just twelve years of age, and 
he is now in the prime of his physical life. With more 
than forty years' experience in his profession, and a well- 
disciplined and cultivated mind, he unites every quality 
which can distinguish a great naval captain. It does not, 
in our estimation, detract from his abilities that he walks 
humbly before his God as a Christian soldier and gentleman. 
No one has ever sailed with him who does not honor and 
love him, while no ships ever exhibited better discipline 
than those which he commanded. He was always firm, but 
kind ; rigid, but lenient. No profanity ever polluted his 
lips, and no carelessness of living ever set a bad example to 
younger men who were serving under him." 

There is another American sailor, who, though not in the 
navy, deserves to be mentioned for his bravery, and de- 
termined resistance to rebel piracy : — 

"The Man who defied Waddell the Pirate. — The 
' San-Francisco Bulletin ' gives the following account of 
the circumstances of the defence and capture of the 
whaling-ship ' Favorite,' of Fairhaven, Mass., on the 28th 
of last June. Capt. Young, the master of the 'Favorite,' 
is described to be between sixty and seventy years old, and 
belongs to the John Brown stamp of mortals, who believe 
in fio^hting the wron^ under all circumstances, and never 
letting right back down to it, however great may be the 



154 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

odds. Accordingly, when he found himself cornered by 
the rebel pirate, with no chance of escape, he proceeded to 
make preparations for the coming conflict with such means 
as were at hand ; and, had it not been for what was done by 
his officers as described below, somebody would have been 
hurt. 

" Seeing a boat shove off from the ' Shenandoah' toward 
his bark, Capt. Young ordered the old blunderbuss used for 
shooting whales to be brought up from below, together with 
his revolver and ammunition. Having carefully loaded the 
weapons, the old salt took his position on the cabin-roof, and 
awaited the approach of the pirate's boat. As he came 
near the side of the vessel, Capt. Young pointed his blunder- 
buss at the officer in charge, and shouted to him to ' stand 
off ! ' The pirate was greatly astonished at such a reception, 
and at first was inclined to think that the old man was play- 
ing a ' goak ' on him ; but, seeing his determined look and 
the unerring aim of the blunderbuss, he came to the con- 
clusion that discretion was the better part of valor, and 
ordered his men to paddle back with all due despatch to 
the ' Shenandoah.' 

" By this time, Capt. Young's fellow-officers began to get 
shaky in the knees ; and, fearing that matters would come to 
a serious pass, they took the precaution to steal away the 
old man's ammunition, and even took the caps off the 
weapons already loaded. Having done this, they, with all 
the crew, crawled into the boats, lowered themselves into 
the water, and left Capt. Young alone in his glory, sole oc- 
cupant of the vessel. The captain thinks tliis was a shabby 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 155 

trick : it was hard enough for him to fight the rebels alone 
anyhow ; but to leave him with nothing but a bomb-gun, 
and a revolver uncapped, to answer the broadside of the 
' Shenandoah,' was putting the odds altogether too heavy 
against him. He did not back down, however, but kept 
his position on the cabin-roof, and awaited the flash of the 
enemy's guns. He had had some experience of the uncer- 
tainties of cannon-balls and shells, having run a schooner 
with supplies up the Potomac in the earlier part of the Re- 
bellion. ' Besides,' said he, ' I have only four or five years 
more to live, anyway ; and I might as well die now as any 
time, especially as all I have is invested in my vessel ; and 
if I lose that I will have to go home penniless, and die a 
pauper.' 

" "V\Tiile thus reasoning to himself, he heard the officer of 
the 'Shenandoah' give the order to 'fire, but fire low.' 
Without deigning to rise from his reclining position, he 
coolly awaited the result of the order ; but no fire came. 
Soon he saw another boat pushing off toward him from the 
' Shenandoah.' It seems, that, after the order to ' fire ' was 
given, some one on board the pirate discovered that one of 
the ' Shenandoah's' boats was in range, and hence the order 
was countermanded. When the pirate's boat came along- 
side the second time, the officer in charge ordered Capt. 
Young to haul down his colors. ' I'll see you d — d first ! ' 
replied the captain. ' If you don't do it, I will shoot you ! ' 
said the officer. ' Shoot, and be d — d ! ' said the captain. 
Hereupon the officer dropped his gun that he had raised to 
shoot the captain, and ordered his men to board the whaler. 



156 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Capt. Young had by this time discovered that the caps had 
been removed from his weapon ; and, being without means 
of defence, he could offer no resistance, and was therefore 
obliged to allow himself to be taken. 

" They conveyed him on board the ' Shenandoah,* and 
immediately ordered him to be put in irons, and sent to the 
topgallant forecastle ; at the same time telling him, that, if 
he was anyway saucy, they would gag him. A sentry was 
placed over him ; and he was kept there four hours, or until 
he was put aboard the ' Nile ' to be brought to San Fran- 
cisco. He was robbed of every thing, including a hundred 
and twenty dollars in money, a gold watch, and even his 
shirt-studs. He also had a library of two hundred and 
twenty volumes, which was stolen from the ' Favorite ' be- 
fore she was committed to the flames." 

To this account may properly be added an anecdote, 
which illustrates the patriotism of Young America. It 
is from the " Plymouth Rock : " — 

"A Boy Hero. — Our readers will remember the inci- 
dent, at the capture of the United-States steamship ' Harriet 
Lane ' in Galveston Harbor, of a boy coming on deck, 
when she was boarded by the rebels, with a revolver in each 
hand, and after firing every barrel, finding the vessel surren- 
dered, threw his pistols overboard to keep them out of the 
hands of the rebels. His life was in danger from the act, 
as a rebel soldier had a sword uplifted to cut him down for 
throwing away his pistols, but was stopped by an officer. 

^i All loyal citizens will rejoice to know that a boy of 



GALLANT EXPLOITS OF OUR NAVY. 157 

such a fearless and lofty spirit has been rewarded, and placed 
in a position where these qualities will have a full chance 
of development. By a letter to his son, from our towns- 
man Capt. Phineas Leach, who is acting-master on board 
the receiving ship ' North Carolina,' stationed in New-York 
Harbor, where this young hero was placed when released, 
we learn, that, upon the act of this boy hero coming to the 
notice of the Secretary of the Navy, that officer issued a 
warrant of midshipman to the boy, and gave orders for his 
admission to the Naval School at Newport. 

" By the kindness of Capt. Leach's son, we are enabled 
to give the following information of this young hero : ' His 
name is Robert Cummings. He Avas born in Scotland, from 
which country he came, with his father and mother, when he 
was five years old. His father died about three years after 
coming to this country ; and young Robert was obliged to 
help support the family. He had not been at school since 
he was ten years old. He went on board the " Harriet 
Lane" when thirteen years old (being now but fourteen), 
leaving a half-pay ticket of five dollars per month to his 
mother, who lives in Philadelphia.' 

" Capt. Leach enclosed a photograph of young Cummings, 
which we saw. He is a light-built youth, small of his age, 
with a handsome, determined face, and good head. Tf he 
lives, and has an opportunity, we doubt not that Robert 
Cummings will again be heard from to his credit." 

With such naval heroes, can any thing but supremacy on 
the seas be predicted for the Ameri<;an navy? Can any 
banner float above the stars and stripes ? 



158 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, 

" Flag of the seas ! on ocean wave 

Thy stars shall glitter o'er the grave : 
When Death, careering on the gale, 

Sweeps darkly round the belted sail. 
And frighted waves rush wildly back 

Before the broadside's reeling rack, 
Each dying wanderer of the sea 

Shall look at once to heaven and thee, 
And smile to see thy splendors fly 

In triumph o'er his closing eye. 

Flag of the free heart's hope and home ! 

By angel hands to valor given, 
The stars have lit the welkin dome, 

And all thy hues were born in heaven. 
Forever float that standard sheet ! 

Where breathes the foe but falls before us, 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us ? " * 

* Joseph Rodman Drake. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC 169 



CHAPTER lY. 

BATTLE-SCENES. — ARarr OF THE POTOMAC. 

*' Strike till the last armed foe expires, 
Strike for your altars and your fires, 
Strike for the green graves of your sires, 
God and your native land ! " 

' HE Army of the Potomac ! — green are the bays 
that twine around that name, unfading forever the 
laurels it has won under Sherman and Sheridan and 
Grant ! To present all its history would require volumes. 
The reader of these pages can be furnished only with pic- 
tures of its valor and glory, sketched, it may be, with a 
feeble hand sometimes, but, it is hoped, always truthfully. 

" At the time of the attack on Fort Sumter, the entire 
military force at the disposal of the Government was six- 
teen thousand and six regulars. They were principally 
employed in the West to hold in check marauding Indians. 
It has always been the policy of the Government to main- 
tain the army at the lowest number of privates which was 
practicable with the interests of the country, and to rely 
upon volunteers whenever any emergency should arise. 
. . . The nucleus of our army was always preserved by 
the education of officers at West Point. . . . The call of 



160 FIELD, GUXBOAT, IIOSPIT^iL, AXD PRISON. 

the President for troops for three months, in his pro- 
clamation of April 15, asked for seventy-five thousand 
men. This call amounted, in the aggregate, to ninety-four 
regiments, making seventy-three thousand three hundred 
and ninety-one officers and men. Of the States called upon, 
the governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, 
Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi, peremptorily refused 
to comply with the requirements made by the War Depart- 
ment. All the other non-seceding States promptly fur- 
nished the number required of them, except Maryland, 
whose governor was prevented from so doing by the out- 
break at Baltimore. . . . The remainder, to constitute the 
seventy-live thousand men, was composed of troops in 
the District of Columbia." * 

The soldiers who fought in Virginia, North and Soiith 
Carolina, and Maryland, are included under the general term 
of the Army of the Potomac. Their victory at Bull Run, 
or Manassas, led the rebels to regard themselves as greatly 
the superiors of the Northern people in battle : hence they 
became enthusiastic for continuing the .war ; and, before 
the autumn of 1861, they had a large army in front of 
Washington. The Union army was increased also, and 
Gen. McClellan called to the command. " The people 
wanted a leader. Gen. Scott, who had fought at Niagara 
and Lundy's Lane, who had captured the city of Mexico, 
was too old and infirm to take the field. Gen. McDowell, 
although his plan of attack at Bull Run was approved, had 
failed of victory. Gen. McClellan had been successful in 

* Aimual Cyclopedia, 1861. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ABMY OF THE POTOMAC. 161 

the skirmishes at Philippi and at Rich Mountain. He was 
known to be a good engineer. He had been a visitor to 
Russia during the Crimean "War, and had written a book 
upon that war, Avhich was published by Congress. He was 
a native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Ohio when the 
war broke out. The governors of both of these States sent 
him a commission as a brigadier-general, because he had 
military experience in Mexico, because he w^as known as 
a military man, and because they were in great need of 
experienced men to command the troops. Having all these 
things in his favor, he was called to Washington, and made 
commander of the Army of the Potomac, on the 27th of 
July."* 

The principal events in connection with this army during 
a long period of inactivity, in 1861, were the disaster at 
Ball's Bluff and a victory at Drainsville. 

It is not designed to present a history of army operations 
in any part of the country, but only incidents of the con- 
flicts. The following is one of war's terrible scenes in 
connection with the Ball's-Bluff defeat, describing the scene 
of crossing the river after the battle : — 

" "We got down the Bluff to the water's edge. Of the two 
boats that brought us over, one was departing laden with 
wounded ; one returning, also full of men. But, as they 
neared either shore, the eagerness of the occupants embar- 
rassed the men who were in charge. The frail craft oscillated 
to and fro ; then, half full of water, and almost at the same 
time, they both swamped. Seeing no chance of escape, the 

* Following the Flag, by Carleton. 
11 



162 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

men plunged by dozens into tlie river, some naked, some 
with all their clothes on. Our second lieutenant and some 
eight or ten of the company had collected on the shore : 
our first lieutenant joined, and both' prepared to swim 
across. This was the last seen of them. Many were 
drowned. As you stood and watched them swimming 
across, you would see here and there one throw up his hands 
and utter a cry, then slowly disappear, then rise again with 
outstretched hands, then sink again, and rise no more." 

Eemarkable Escape at Ball's Bluff. — The "Albany 
Journal " prints an extract from a letter written by Corporal 
P. Young, of Company D, Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment, 
to his brother in that city, in which he gives the following 
account of his escape from the rebels after the battle of 
Ball's Bluff: — 

" The dread alternative of surrendering and becoming a 
prisoner of Jeff. Davis, or swim across the Potomac, or make 
my grave at its dark and murky bottom, presented itself ; and 
I chose to swim, with all my uniform on, after thinking the 
matter all over fully in a cleft of the rock, where I hid 
myself about sundown, when the friendly darkness covered 
my escape, and put an end to the awful conflict. 

"The rebels came all around me, passed by and over me. 
The cleft was about twenty feet perpendicular height where I 
was concealed from view. When it became dark, I ventured 
forth, and crept the whole length of an oak-tree lying out 
into the river. Then another difficulty presented itself. The 
moon just began to cast its silver light from the eastern hori- 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 163 

zon, — a dreaded light ; for it made all a conspicuous mark 
on the prostrated tree. I found that it would not do to stay 
there long : so, as I passed by one man and another, I put 
my hand on a stick, which was loose, and I took it in my 
hand to steady myself ; and I thought it would do to use to 
push a raft over to the island, in case they made one. 

" But I soon concluded, that, if they made a raft, it would be 
swamped by the rush of desperate men for their lives, just 
as the boats had been before. Before I got to the end of the 
tree, a man asked me in piteous tones to give him the stick. 
I hesitated, and he asked me several times : finally I con- 
sented ; when, for some unaccountable reason, he did not ac- 
cept of it, neither did he even thank me for the offer. I 
then stepped into the mud and water up to my breast, and 
put the stick crossways of my shoulders, and commenced to 
make motions like a fish ; when, finding that others behind 
me who were undressed would be likely to take hold of my 
stick, gaining upon me, I turned it parallel with my body ; 
and, strange as it may seem, I was pleased with the idea that 
I somewhat resembled, with the stick projecting from my 
head, the sword-fish. And, just at this time, a little dark 
cloud shut down before the moon, preventing rebel riflemen 
from seeing me in the water, and firing upon me as they did 
upon scores of others, even after they had crossed to the 
island. I made no noise, not opening my mouth as many 
did, attracting the attention of the rebels. 

" While I was in the water, I gave myself up to my Saviour 
in prayer, using the same prayer which had availed on 
another occasion : ' Lord, save, or I perish ! ' I did not even 



164 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

feel cold or uncomfortable or unhappy, but could see the 
ripple at the end of my sword (if you call my stick a 
sword-fish), by which I knew that I was making headway, 
the heavy current taking me away down stream a long dis- 
tance. But at length I reached the island, and went to 
the building where the wounded had been carried during the 
day, where I found so many so much worse than myself, 
that I did not speak to anybody, the floors being all covered 
with dead and wounded. 

" I found I was getting cold, and immediately went out 
for exercise, and met a man who was waiting on the 
wounded, carrying them blankets, overcoats, &c. He asked 
me if I did not want something to put on. I replied, ' Yes,' 
thankfully ; and he took off his own coat, as I supposed ; but, 
to my perfect surprise and astonishment, he had given me 
my own overcoat, taken from an outhouse in Avhich hun- 
dreds had been thrown before the battle, and carried off dur- 
ing the day without any regard to who the owner was. I 
made my way home to camp, and did not feel exhausted 
after all the almost superhuman labors and trials and suffer- 
ings of that bloody day." 

The following lines were penned by a Greenfield soldier 
soon after the battle : — 

THE HEROES OF BALL'S BLUFF. 

Above them, dark and stormy clouds ; 

Before them, forests thick with foes ; 
Behind them, yon steep precipice ; 

Beneath, a rapid river flows. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 165 

Thus compassed is our gallant band ; 

'Tis not for them to question why : 
Though ten to one the foe advance, 

'Tis theirs to charge, to fight, to die. 

Come ye^ho deem that valor's fled, 
That ancient knighthood's gone for aye, 

And weep with us who mourn our dead 
As on the battle-field they lie. 

With pale, cold faces upward turned, 
See the strong man, the tender youth, 

Who nobly fought and nobly fell 
For God, for country, and for truth. 

Their mission done, their work fulfilled, 
They're gone with God in peace to dwell ; 

And now, perchance, are watching o'er 
The country they have loved so well. 

O country ! to our sons so dear. 

That their life-blood they freely give, 

Enshrine those heroes in thy heart, 
And let their names forever live. 

Among the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac 
was that of Antietam, in w^liich the Union forces lost so 
heavily, that it could hardly be determined whether we 
gained a victory or suffered a defeat. The following 
extract from a private letter gives the impression of the 
hour upon the mind of a young soldier* who left the 

* John Groves Smith, jun., of Beverly, Mass. 



166 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

student haunts of Andover to defend his country's life and 
honor : — 

" Within a week, I have been an actor among scenes 
which God grant may not be enacted over again, at least 
many times in my life. I will tell you as well as I can 
what I have seen since last Sabbath morning. At that time, 
our brigade was in Middletown, Md., from whence troops 
in advance of us had driven the enemy. At this place, I ate 
the last substantial meal, a good breakfast, which I got by 
paying twenty-five cents. About noon, we took our line of 
march onward, and, about five o'clock, reached the scene 
of action. As Ave neared it, wounded men, supported by 
comrades and borne in ambulances, were met, being conveyed 
to hospitals, and places of safety. Our regiment first formed 
in line of battle in a cornfield, and directly advanced through 
a piece of woods, acting as deployers or skirmishers. Here 
the regiment broke badly ; and it is wonderful that it was 
not cither surrounded, or taken prisoners, or used up, as the 
enemy ^^ere in strong force all around us. Soon we came 
together in a lane as well as we could, and, advancing, 
turned into another lane running at right angles with this, 
and, jumping over a fence, took position on one side of it. 
Wc remained here but a moment ; when order was given to 
fall back into the lane whence we had first come. We did so, 
and, advancing down about forty rods, crossed the fence into 
an open field on the right, and had hardly done so, when, 
fi-om the other side, the enemy, under cover of our flag, 
poured upon us a volley of musketry which caused every 
man to drop instanter : had we not done so, the loss 



BATTLE-SCENES. — AB3fY OF THE POTOMAC. 167 

of life would have been terrible ; as it was, we had 
some fifty wounded during this fire. Our general (Reno) 
was killed, and our colonel (Wild) was shot through the 
arm. 

" As soon as it was deemed safe, we fell back into a piece 
of woods, under cover of the darkness, and came together 
ao^ain in the lane a little below where we had received the 
volley. We remained here some two hours perfectly quiet, 
the balls of the enemy meantime whistling over our heads 
incessantly : had their range been lower, you can imagine 
the result. About ten o'clock, the firing ceased ; when Ave 
passed into an open field, and rested as well as we could. 
In the morning, I, at my leisure, went over the battle-field. 
The lane I have spoken of, and the piece of woods through 
which we skirmished, were thickly strewn with dead bodies, 
mostly of the enemy. As I looked upon them, I felt very 
solemn ; then I thought of my God and my country, and 
felt strong and resolute, and prayed that I might be prepared 
for whatever an all-wise Providence might have in store for 
me. I needed to think and pray ; for in a little time my 
strength, resolution, and resignation were to be tested. 
Come with me now to the battle-field of Wednesday, which 
was three miles from here, and eight from the action of 
Sunday. Early in the forenoon, our brigade marched for- 
ward gradually, and about noon came to the bridge at 
which the tremendous battle was going on. The enemy 
were across the bridge, and, aided by almost every natural 
advantage, were contesting our passage. 

" Our regiment lay on the left slope of a hill, and for more 



168 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

than an hour listened to the play of the artillery above and 
the infantry below us : and it was effective ; for, at the expi- 
ration of that time, our troops, cheering loudly, commenced 
the passage of the bridge. The Thirty-fifth was the second 
regiment to cross. As soon as we were over, we charged up 
the hill, although encumbered with our ammunition, blankets, 
overcoats, and rations, right into the face of a rebel battery 
of five or six guns. Falling back, we lay motionless under 
shelter of the hill for two hours or more ; and a more 
dangerous position when we first took it can scarcely be con- 
ceived. We had nothing in front of us, not even a skirmish- 
er ; and had the enemy, backed by their battery, advanced 
upon us, God only knows the consequence. But after a 
while, upon our extreme right, several regiments sent out 
skirmishers, and gradually advanced ; and two regiments 
came right on over us into the position whence we had fallen 
back. Directly came the order, ' Forward, Thirty-fifth ! * 
and, advancing to the left, we formed in line of. battle on both 
sides of a lane. While doing so, a shell which exploded 
struck a poor fellow two files front of me, and killed him in- 
stantly. Directly we were at it, and the slaughter on both 
sides was terrible. Five of Company C were killed, and 
twenty wounded ; among the latter your brother, — thank 
God! not seriously. The Thirty-fifth was awfully cut up: 
three companies had every commissioned officer badly 
wounded ; one company numbered fifty-seven killed and 
wounded ; and the whole regiment at the close of the fight 
mustered but about three hundred efiective men out of over 
seven hundred." 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 169 

An extract from another private letter * gives a graphic 
picture of scenes just after the battle : — 

" The dead lay just as they fell ; but they were terribly 
swollen, and all turned black in the face, with their eyes 
almost out of their heads : it was an awful sight. They all 
looked just alike in the face : they lay in long rows just as 
they had stood in line of battle. At one place, where they 
had formed behind a fence, they lay two and three deep. I 
saw several officers among them. William Warren was shot 
in the right arm, taken prisoner, and paroled by the rebels : 
he got back the same day, and joined the regiment. He 
went to a hospital near by, and I sat up with him all night. 
It was a hard night for me : we were in a very large barn, 
filled with wounded men, mostly rebels ; and there were only 
two stewards to attend to about two hundred men : so I was 
up all night. First I would turn over one man, then I 
would prop up the arm or leg of another, then pour water 
on their wounds, or give them some to drink. We had to 
take one man out into the yard to die. I stood by and 
saw two or three' men die. It was a very eventful night 
for me. The man who lay next to Warren was a very 
gentlemanly fellow : he belonged to the Fifth South-Carolina 
Regiment ; he said he had been in the battles of Savage 
Station and Malvern Hill. It seemed queer to be feeding 
with a spoon the man, who, a little while before, had been 
trying to kill me. It is queer any way to talk to men, who, 
you know, would kill you if they had the means." 

* Written by Lieut. Charles P. Abbott, son of Rev. Joseph Abbott, 
D.D., of Beverly, Mass. 



170 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

The following letter from a well-known war-correspondent 
gives some interesting incidents of the battle oX Antietam : — 

Sharpsburg, Md., Sept. 19, 1862. 
To the Editor of tlie " Boston Journal ^^ — 

The village of Sharpsburg suffered severely from our 
shells during the battle. Burnside's, Richardson's, Frank- 
lin's, and Sumner's batteries were at times playing upon the 
rebels in the direction of the town. I remember especially 
the vigor with which Ayer's battery was worked, pouring 
an incessant fire into the cornfield west of Roulet's house, 
and upon the hills above it, where the Washington artillery 
of New Orleans was in position. 

Many of the houses of Sharpsburg are of wood, lined with 
brick. In one house, a shell had burst in the second story, 
tearing out the side and a portion of the end, throwing the 
clapboards and brick into the street, making a hole through 
which you might drive a four-wheeled coach. A large and 
substantial brick house had several shots pass through it. A 
twelve-pound shot passed through a wooden house, tearing 
out a large oak post, and fell upon the back of a horse in 
the street, killing him instantly. A large barn was set on 
fire near the town, and consumed. Several houses and barns 
north of the town, in range of Sumner's batteries, were 
burned, but whether by our shells or by the rebels, I have 
not been able to ascertain. 

The inhabitants fled when the shock of battle began. 
They were returning when our army reached the place. They 
were very kind to our soldiers. They have been stripped 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 171 

of nearly all their provisions, their pigs, and poultry: their 
gardens are destroyed, their apples and fruit taken, 
their cornfields trampled down, and potatoes stolen. Yet, 
with their own losses so heavy, they distributed freely of 
what they had to our suffering soldiers. They are large- 
hearted, kind, benevolent, and will be remembered with 
gratitude by many a soldier. 

Although I saw thousands of wounded men, I heard but 
few complaints. I cannot tell why it is that wounded men 
make so little ado upon the battle-field. Possibly it may be 
their systems are benumbed, possibly because the excitement 
of the hour acts as an anassthetic, producing partial insensi- 
bility to pain, but probably from a consideration that thou- 
sands are suffering with them, and that it is childish to make 
complaint over that which cannot be helped. Their heroism 
sustains them. 

I noticed it after the battle of Pittsburg Landing, where I 
passed twenty-four hours on a steamboat with five hundred 
wounded. I noticed it yesterday in a hospital containing 
some of the wounded of the New-Hampshire Ninth, the Mas- 
sachusetts Twenty-first. Lieut. -Col. Titus of the New-Hamp- 
shire Ninth, and several of his officers, were there ; and, 
although severely wounded, they were very cheerful. 

Passing by a large straw stack, where several hundred 
privates were lying, I found them equally cheerful. I heard 
but few groans. 

One of the most affecting incidents occurred during the 
night. I was finding forage for my horse at a house near 
Keitiesville, which was filled with those slightly wounded, — 



172 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

those who had received balls in their feet, hands, and arms. 
They had had supper, hard -bread and coffee, and were 
happy. They were singing, not rollicking songs, but " Our 
Flag is there." 

Then there came thoughts of home, of loved ones, of 
past scenes and pleasant memories, and expressed in that 
old familiar song : — 

"Do they miss me at home ? do they miss me 

At morning, at noon, or at night 1 
And lingers a gloomy shade round them 

That only my presence can light 1 
Are joys less invitingly welcome, 

And pleasure less hale, than before, 
Because one is missed from the circle. 

Because I am with them no more 1 " 

There was a shade of sadness in the tones of those who 
sang, not of discouragement ; but it was the welling-up 
of affection, the return of sweet recollections, which neither 
hardship, suffering, privation, or long absence, could efface. 

Missed at home ? — ah, how sadly ! Cakleton, 

It was on this sanguinary battle-field that the gallant 
young Capt. Richard Derby fell, while cheering his men, 
and nobly leading them on to the conflict.* 

One aged father was called to mourn the loss of three 
sons at Antietam. 

The following paragraph will show how the venerable 
patriot gave all to his country, and, like many another noble 
soul, did not regret the terrible sacrifice : — 

* See Memoir published by Degen & Estes, Boston. 



BATTLE-SOENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 173 

" An old gray-headed man, upwards of eighty years of 
age, came in from the East this morning by the train, on his 
way home to Michigan. He had a sad story to tell of the 
sorrows caused by this unholy Rebellion. The old gentle- 
man, whose name is Crane, residing in Wayne County, 
Mich., had three sons. Two of them joined one of the 
Michigan regiments, and have done good service in several 
of the battles in Eastern Virginia. The third, not much 
more than a lad, was also anxious to join his brothers, but 
was for some time dissuaded from the step by his father and 
mother ; the latter having been for years a confirmed invalid. 
At last, the urgent entreaties of the lad prevailed ; and but a 
short time since he passed through Cleveland on his way to 
join the regiment to which his brothers belonged. The bloody 
struggle at Antietam soon followed after ; and in that battle 
the three brothers fell, fighting bravely. Information was 
sent home to the bereaved parents ; and the shock of the 
news was so great, that the mother, enfeebled by long sick- 
ness, died in a few days. As soon as she was laid in the 
grave, the old man set out for the battle-field, with the hope 
of finding the bodies of his three sons, and bringing them 
home to rest beside that of their mother. The search was 
long and thorough, but was unsuccessful. They had been 
probably buried on the field, with nothing to mark where 
they lay. Mr. Crane returns home bent down with years 
and with his great sorrow. He says that he has now no 
relatives left, and nothing to live for. Yet he does not 
regret the sacrifice made on the altar of his country, 
and only laments that he has not strength to shoulder his 



174 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

musket, and go himself to fight against this wicked Rebel- 
lion." * 

The " Boston Journal " says, ^' One of our correspond- 
ents, who was with the division of Gen. Sturgis at the 
battle of Antietam, gives the following account of the part 
taken by that division in the contest. It will be seen that 
the New-Hampshire Ninth and Massachusetts Thirty-fifth, 
new regiments, won much credit by their bravery : — 

" 'Our division, under Gen. Sturgis, were on the extreme 
left, and were not placed in line until about five, p.m., when 
a double-quick movement took place, and the whole division 
started like Bengal tigers let loose for prey. They run 
through a galling fire of shot and shell until they were 
within reach of the enemy's musketry, when a heavy fire 
opened on us, which Gen. Naglee, commanding our brig- 
ade, saw at once would decimate the brigade ; and so the 
order came to charge bayonets. Promptly the glistening 
steel was placed in position, and here one of the most bril- 
liant bayonet charges took place that has been seen during 
the war. The brigade had to charge up hill, over stone 
walls and other obstructions, and met the enemy at a great 
disadvantage. The Massachusetts Thirty-fifth Regiment was 
put in order of battle, and did great execution at the first onset. 
In Gen. Naglee's brigade and Sturgis's division was also 
the Ninth Regiment New-Hampshire volunteers. Col. Fel- 
lows, one of the most experienced colonels in the army. It 
was a handsome sight to see him put his regiment into ac- 
tion. When the clear, sonorous order came from Col. Fel- 

* Cleveland Herald. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 175 

lows, " Charge, bayonets ! " every eye gleamed in the " Bloody 
Ninth," as the brigade now call the regiment. Every man 
threw away his knapsack, blanket, and haversack, and 
leaped over a stone wall six feet high, with a yell that fairly 
sent terror through the rebel ranks opposite. With eyes 
gleaming with joy and determination, and every bayonet 
fixed, they charged up the hill and through the cornfield at 
double-quick, with a perfect yell of triumph. Col. Fellows 
and Lieut .-Col. Titus astonished the old veterans in the ser- 
vice by the manner in which they brought the Ninth New- 
Hampshire volunteers into the action. It was a grand and 
magnificent sight, and one seldom seen in battle. The rebels 
fled before them, and every rebel regiment broke and run. 
Gen. Reno fell beside the Ninth New-Hampshire volunteers 
and Thirty-fifth Massachusetts about dark, just in the mo- 
ment ,of victory.' " 

One more incident illustrating the bravery of our men 
may be given, and then other battles in which the Potomac 
Army v/as engaged may be mentioned. 

An Incident op the Battle of Antietam. — Mr. 
Thomas Drew, of this city, has received from eye-witnesses 
an account of the death of his brother, Herbert M. Drew, 
of the Haverhill Company, Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Regi- 
ment. The letter giving the account says, — 

" You remember, in reading the accounts of the battle of 
Antietam, that there was a certain hill that Gen. McClel- 
lan wished Burnside to hold at all hazards, and that Burn- 
side sent word that he could not hold it half an hour. Upon 



176 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the holding of that hill depended the fate of the whole of 
Burnside's corps. 

" The Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment was stationed 
on the top to defend it ; but the fire was so severe, that they fell 
back and retreated down the hill, with the exception of 
twenty-five determined men, who remained and held the 
hill, without a single commissioned officer to lead them. 
Gen. Burnside said those noble twenty-five men saved him 
the day. 

" Herbert was conspicious among these, fighting with the 
most determined bravery ; and, although the rebels charged 
up the hill to within two rods of the devoted band, they were 
repulsed. It was at this charge that Herbert was killed, 
receiving two full charges of buck and ball near the heart. 
He died almost instantly, without a word or a struggle. 
Out of this little band of heroes, fifteen were killed out- 
right ; and they were buried on the very spot they had 
bought so dearly for a resting-place." * 

While the memory of such bravery and patriotism ex- 
ists, each loyal heart must rejoice, and have hope for our 
country's future. Our flag, the emblem of liberty to all, is 
destined to wave in triumph to the end of time. 

" "Washed in the blood of the brave and the blooming, 
Snatched from the altars of insolent foes, 
Burning with star-fires, but never consuming, 
Flash its broad ribbons of lily and rose. 



* Boston Journal. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 177 

Vainly the prophets of Baal would rend it, 

VainJy his worshippers pray for its fall : 
Thousands have died for it, millions defend it. 

Emblem of justice and mercy to all, — 

Justice that reddens the sky with her terrors, 

Mercy that comes with her white-handed train, — 

Soothing all passions, redeeming all errors. 
Sheathing the sabre, and breaking the chain. 

Borne on the deluge of old usuiq^ations. 

Drifted our ark o'er the desolate seas : 
This was the rainbow of hope to the nations, 

Torn from the storm-cloud, and flung to the breeze ! 

God bless the flag and its loyal defenders 

While its broad folds o'er the battle-field wave. 

Till the dim star-wreath rekindle its splendors. 

Washed from its stains in the blood of the brave ! " * 

From a letter to the " Baltimore American " by its editor, 
C. C. Fulton, Esq., some of the battle-scenes in connection 
with the great battle before Richmond in 1862, when Mc- 
Clellan commanded and was defeated, are here given : — 

" About seven o'clock on Friday evening, numbers of the 
wounded commenced to arrive from the front of the lines, 
with a few of the most intelligent of whom I had an oppor- 
tunity of conversing. Those engaged in the repulse of 
Stonewall Jackson represent his rout to be most quick and 
disastrous. He came down on them, expecting a surprise, 
but found them all momentarily expecting his approach, 

* Dr. 0. W. Holmes. 
12 



178 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

having been informed by Gen. McClellan, two days previ- 
ous, that he was coming upon them. Instead of a surprise, 
the enemy received the first shot, and, after two hours' fight, 
retreated in confusion. 

" The wounded from the fight which immediately ensued 
represented it to have been a most terrific encounter ; the 
enemy coming out from Richmond upon them in such dense 
masses, that the shell and grape poured into them as they 
advanced made great gaps in their lines, which were imme- 
diately filled up, and they moved forward most determinedly. 
Their artillery was so poorly served, that the damage to our 
ranks was light in proportion. They still moved on, and 
exchanged showers of Minie balls, which were destructive 
on both sides ; but, when Gen. Porter ordered a bayonet 
cha':-ge, they retreated in double-quick, though Gen. Porter 
pursued them but a short distance. 

" The enemy again rallied, and approached our lines a 
second time, when the same terrible slaughter ensued : this 
time, their artillery, being better served, was more efiective 
in the ranks of our men. On coming to close quarters, 
they were again repulsed, and driven back a still greater 
distance ; this twice fought over battle-ground being literally 
strewn with the dead and dying. Gen. Porter then a 
second time fell back to his position, and waited nearly an 
hour for the enemy to renew the assault. They, however, 
finally came on in increased numbers, having been largely 
re-enforced, and were again received with shell and grape, 
causing great chasms in their ranks ; and one poor fellow 
who had lost his arm assured me that he saw the loose arms 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 179 

and portions of the bodies of the enemy making gyrations 
through the air. A third time the enemy bore down most 
bravely and determinedly on our lines, and this conflict was 
the most severely contested of the w^hole ; but, when the bay- 
onet was brought to bear, he fell back, and was pressed to- 
ward Richmond fully a mile beyond our original lines. 

" Again, for the fourth time. Gen. Porter fell back to his 
first position ; when an order was received from Gen. Mc- 
Clellan to continue his retrograde movement slowly and in 
order. So soon as it became apparent to the enemy that it 
was the purpose of Gen. Porter to retire, the enemy again 
pushed forward most boldly and bravely ; when their advance 
was checked by the entire reserve force, consisting of the 
New- York Fiftli, Lieut.-Col. Duryea, the New-York Tenth, 
Col. Bendix, and two other regiments, under command of 
Col. Warren, acting brigadier-general, and the entire force 
of regulars under Major-Gen. Sykes. This fresh force 
held the enemy in check, while the force which had previ- 
ously borne the brunt of the battle moved steadily back and 
in good order, carrying with them their wounded and dead. 

" The enemy made a fierce attack on the reserve ; but can- 
non were posted at various points of the route by which they 
were retiring toward the Chickahominy, which occasionally 
poured in shot and shell upon them, and checked their move- 
ments, and enabled the troops to move back in the most 
admirable order. At one time in this retrograde movement, 
the reserve force of Gen. Sykes charged on the enemy with 
the bayonet, and drove him back nearly a mile. In this 
charge, the gallant New- York Fifth, and Col. Bendix's New- 



180 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

York Tenth, drew forth the plaudits of the army by their 
steadiness and bravery, in which they, however, lost about 
a hundred of their numbers, whose bodies it was necessary 
to leave on the field. Cheers went up along our whole lines 
at this gallant repulse, which was at three o'clock in the after- 
noon ; and the enemy did not again renew the attack during 
the balance of the evening, but turned his columns down 
toward Whitehouse, which seemed to be the haven of all 
his hopes." 

The Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, under Col. 
Hinks, won fadeless laurels in that battle. 

" In order that the reader may be fully informed of the 
gallant conduct of the officers and men of this command, it 
is necessary to go back to the opening fight of Wednesday, 
the 25th of April. The regiment was attached to Sedg- 
wick's division, and constituted a part of the reserve at the 
battle of Fair Oaks, where they went into action at the close 
of the last day's fighting, and came out with the loss of only 
one man. On Wednesday morning. Col. Hinks received 
orders to advance his regiment, from the intrenchments 
where they had lain for two weeks without shelter of any 
kind, to the front of Fair-oaks Station, to extend Hooker's 
lines to the right. 

" Col. Hinks was compelled to advance his regiment 
through a swamp which was filled with dense underwood. 
He commenced moving his command at eight o'clock by 
throwing out Company K, the Boston Fire Zouaves, as skir- 
mishers, CqI, Hinks speaks in praiseworthy terms of the 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 181 

conduct of this company. The company pressed on about 
two-thirds of the way through the swamp ; when Col. Hinks 
extended his skirmishers to the right of the regiment, and 
advanced his whole command in line, in face of two regi- 
ments of rebel infantry, who opened a fire on our troops. 
Our skirmishers engaged those of a rebel brigade on their 
extreme right, and bore down steadily upon them, forcing 
them to retreat. 

" In this manner the Nineteenth advanced through the 
woods to the extreme edge of the swamp ; and, entering a 
clear field, they opened fire on one rebel column advancing, 
and another which opposed them in line. After an engage- 
ment which lasted fifteen minutes, during which the Nine- 
teenth lost forty-five officers and men killed and wounded, 
the rebel columns broke and fled. Our troops no sooner 
observed the ' skedaddle ' movement of the rebels than they 
burst out with hearty cheers. The Fire Zouaves had three 
or four men wounded, and three cut off and taken prisoners, 
in the skirmish. 

" Immediately after the dispersion of the enemy in front, 
the rebel column on the right broke, turned about, and fled 
before the steady fire of the Massachusetts troops, who were 
never in better spirits, or more desirous of engaging the 
enemy. Col. Hinks immediately obliqued his ranks, and 
prepared to charge upon the retiring foe ; when orders came 
for him to retire. He did not stop to question, but marched 
his regiment back to the intrenchments, which he reached at 
eleven o'clock. During this engagement, the First Massa- 
chusetts Regiment was the second regiment on the right of 



182 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the Nineteenth ; and the line was composed mainly of Mas- 
sachusetts troops. 

'' On the afternoon of Wednesday, the line was again or- 
dered to advance, and regain the ground which they had 
been ordered to abandon after taking it in the morning. 
The Nineteenth advanced again in the same spirited man- 
ner as before, but found the woods filled with rebels, who 
had in the mean time got a battery in position to rake our 
troops. The position was finally retaken ; but, in view of 
the great sacrifice of life which would follow an attempt 
of the rebels to regain it, the Nineteenth, in obedience to 
orders, fell back to their bivouac. Col. Hinks was compli- 
mented by Gens. Sedgwick and Dana for the gallant 
conduct of himself, his officers, and men, their steadiness 
under fire, and the success of the undertaking. 

" The regiment remained in quarters till Friday, when 
they commenced throwing out traverses to prevent the 
enemy from shelling them out of the works ; evidences war- 
ranting the belief that he was planting a battery on their 
flank. On Saturday afternoon, orders were unexpectedly 
received to load the ambulance and wagon trains ; and all 
the sick and wounded, as well as the supplies, were promptly 
loaded, and the trains started for White-oak Swamp Bridge 
about six o'clock in the evening. Most of the ordnance was 
also removed ; some light guns being retained to defend the 
position against the enemy. 

" Saturday night was one of the most distressing ever 
passed by the officers and men of the Nineteenth. A 
deathly and ominous stillness reigned in front of the Con- 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 183 

federate lines. Gen. Dana and Col. Hinks, not content to 
trust the tried sentries on duty, and apprehensive of im- 
pending danger, went the rounds of the earthworks all 
night. 

'' At three o'clock Sunday morning, Col. Hinks received 
orders from Gen. McClellan, through Gen. Sumner, to re- 
treat ; and in five minutes the regiment was on the march, 
leaving nothing of value behind. All the spare muskets 
were broken to prevent them from falling into the hands 
of the enemy ; and all the property that had not been previ- 
ously removed was destroyed. The regiment marched out 
of the works, and joined Gen. Sedgwick's division, which 
was also joined by Richardson's division ; the two corps 
constituting the rearguard of the centre of McClellan's 
army. The Nineteenth retired to Orchard Station, on the 
Richmond and York-River Railroad, where they came into 
line of battle to resist the rebels who were in pursuit. 
Near Orchard Station were collected all the spare gun-car- 
riages and arms, ten days' rations for forty thousand troops, 
worth at least one million of dollars, which were destroyed 
by pouring upon them several hundred barrels of commis- 
sary whiskey, and setting it on fire as the army retreated. 

" At about nine o'clock Sunday morning, the rebels ap- 
peared with strong force of infantry and artillery, who were 
first engaged by French's brigade on the right of the new 
line of battle. The enemy came down the road leading to 
Sumner's Grape-vine Bridge, and received the fire of our 
artillery along the entire length of the line. French's di- 
vision at the same time engaged the enemy, and repulsed 



184 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

them with fearful slaughter. The Nineteenth were in the 
front line of battle, exposed to the rebel artillery; but, 
throwing themselves on the ground, the regiment escaped 
with few slight casualties. No sooner were the rebels re- 
pulsed than orders were given by Gen. Sumner for the 
troops to resume their retreat, and each regiment to make 
the best of its way to Savage's Station. 

" The Nineteenth marched all day Sunday, most of the 
time at double-quick. The heat was oppressive ; and fifty 
men fell out of the ranks, and into the hands of the rebels, 
who, pressing close upon the retreating army, appeared in 
their rear about four o'clock, opening fire with two thirty- 
two pounders. Our artillery replied with terrific effect ; and 
the heaviest cannonading ever heard on the Peninsula en- 
sued. The rebel artillery was silenced ; but the enemy 
shortly after appeared with two guns on the Williamsburg 
Turnpike, from which they again opened fire on our troops. 
Simultaneously with the appearance of the artillery, an im- 
mense force of infantry opened fire along the entire line of 
the wood in front of the Federal position. Here occurred 
the most desperate fight of the retreat. Brooks's Vermont 
brigade engaged the rebels in a succession of splendid 
charges, capturing the guns on the turnpike, and driving the 
rebels back at the point of the bayonet. 

" Immediately after this, our army resumed their retreat, 
leaving their dead and wounded on the field. All who 
could walk crawled along with the retreating army ; many 
fell into the hands of the rebels, and many more struggled 
into the White-oak Swamp, where they doubtless perished. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ABMY OF THE POTOMAC. 185 

The Federal army crossed the swamp, blowing up the bridge, 
and reached the south side on Monday morning. From this 
point, they marched two and a half miles to Charles City 
Cross Roads, where they halted for wagon and ambulance 
trains to pass on. 

" At five o'clock Monday afternoon, heavy musketry 
firing was heard on the direct route of the Federal army to 
Turkey Bend, giving evidence that the enemy had inter- 
cepted their line of retreat. The troops, weary from con- 
tinued fighting and from long and forced marches, were in 
no condition to meet the foe as they desired. They were 
not, however, dismayed, but determined to stand boldly up 
to the work of driving back the rebels, who commenced an 
attack on the whole line. Brigade after brigade, and 
division after division, of McClellan's army went in, until 
almost the entire force was engaged. The fighting was 
mostly against rebel infantry. Upon the return of Dana's 
brigade from supporting Franklin's division, the Nineteenth 
was intercepted by a rebel battery, which dashed through 
the column from a cross-road ; and, before it reached the 
body of the brigade, the other regiments were more or less 
engaged. 

'' Col. Hinks advanced his command at double-quick 
across an open field, and into a dense wood, up a steep hill, 
some hundred and fifty yards, against a murderous fire from 
the rebel regiments, one a North-Carolina regiment. He- 
serving their fire till they came face to face with the enemy 
upon the crest of the hill (not ten yards distant), his troops 
delivered a volley into the breasts of the rebels, who fell 



186 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND FRISON. 

back disordered, and fled. At the moment they delivered 
their fire, the Nineteenth received a volley from our own 
lines, from the rear, through the two left companies. At 
the same time, the regiment was attacked by the other rebel 
corps, which, from the rear of his right flank, was cutting 
them down by a cross-fire. Col. Hinks ordered his men to 
fall back to the margin of the wood, changed front, and ad- 
vanced against the enemy. After advancing fifty yards, he 
was met by a heavy fire, which he returned with effect. It 
was here that the colonel received his wound ; and here 
Major Howe fell mortally wounded. Capt. Wass was dis- 
abled by a wound ; and, Lieut.-Col. Devereux being sick in 
the hospital, the command of the regiment devolved upon 
Capt. Edmund Rice. Col. Hinks is unable to give a cor- 
rect estimate of the casualties of his regiment, but thinks 
that he lost, in killed, .wounded, and missing, three hundred 
and six men. 

" He had but six hundred men when he left Fair Oaks ; 
and the regiment now numbered from two hufidred and fifty 
to three hundred eflTectives. He fought his regiment till he 
had fewer officers than companies, made two bayonet 
charges, and led on his troops till he was wounded, and 
borne from the field. He was saved from capture by the 
heroic conduct of Sergeant McGiunis, Corporal Young, and 
several privates of Company A, who carried him on a litter 
seven miles, through the woods, to a place of safety. His 
deeds and that of his gallant regiment carry their own 
praise with them." 

That our men fought bravely, we of the North do not 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 187 

doubt ; that they deserve praise as soldiers, in every par- 
ticular, Gen. Cluscret, a French officer in the United-States 
service, thought; for he wrote to the Paris ''Pays" as 
follows : — 

" After two months of campaign and sufferings such as I 
never endured even in the Crimean War, where we never 
were in want of food, nor exhausted by long marches, I can- 
speak to you knowingly of the American soldier. During 
all that time, we have been marching night and day, often- 
times without bread, with half of our men shoeless, exposed 
to a chilly rain, without shelter, tent, or village. We have 
thus walked between one hundred and fifty and two hun- 
dred miles. But that which, in my estimation, makes the 
American soldier the first in the world, the equal of the 
French soldier, is, that I never heard him utter a complaint 
or grumble. I never was compelled to inflict a punish- 
ment upon him. When I ordered a straggler to fall in, 
he used to show me his naked feet, and hurry on as much 
as he could. I have but a word to express my opinion of 
the American soldier : he is an admirable soldier. He 
adds to the qualities of the French a patience and a resig- 
nation which I did not think it possible for a soldier to 
acquire.'* 

So long was the Army of the Potomac at one time in a 
state of quiescence, that the phrase, " all quiet along the 
Potomac," became stereotyped, as it were. Yet though no 
decisive battles, or skirmishes worthy the name, occurred, 
the faithful pickets were often shot at their posts. Some 
poet has thus immortalized — 



188 FIELD, GUJVBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

THE PICKET-GUARD. 

" All quiet along the Potomac," they say, 

Except now and then a stray picket 
Is shot, as he walks on his beat to and fro, 

By a rifleman hid in the thicket. 
'Tis nothing : a private or two now and then 

Will not count in the news of the battle ; 
Not an officer lost, — only one of the men 

Moaning out all alone the death-rattle. 

All quiet along the Potomac to-night 

Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming ; 
Their tents in the rays of the clear autumn moon, 

Or the light of the watch-fire, gleaming. 
A tremulous sigh, as the gentle night-wind 

Through the forest-leaves softly is creeping ; 
While stars up above, with their glittering eyes, 

Keep guard ; for the army is sleeping. 

There's only the sound of the lone sentry's tread 

As he tramps from the rock to the fountain, 
And thinks of the two, in the low trundle-bed. 

Far away in the cot on the mountain. 
His musket falls slack ; his face, dark and grim. 

Grows gentle with memories tender ; 
And he mutters a prayer for the children asleep. 

For their mother, — may Heaven defend her ! 

The moon seems to shine just as brightly as then. 
That night, when the love yet unspoken 

Leaped up to his lips, when love-murmured vows 
Were pledged to be ever unbroken. 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 189 

Then, drawing his sleeves roughly over his eyes, 

He dashes off tears that are welling, 
And gathers his gun closer up to its place, 

As if to keep down the heart-swelling. 

He passes the fountain, the blasted pine-tree ; 

The footstep is lagging and weary : 
Yet onward he goes, through the broad belt of light, 

Toward the shade of the forest so dreary. 
Hark ! was it the night-wind that rustled the leaves ? 

Was it moonlight so wondrously flashing ? 
It looked like a rifle ! " Ha ! Mary, good-by ! " 

And the life-blood is ebbing and plashing. 

All quiet along the Potomac to-night ; 

No sound save the rush of the river ; 
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead : 

The picket's off duty forever. 

During the advance of the Army of the Potomac south 
of the Rapidan, on those very cold nights, the troops and 
guards suffered terribly. Several had limbs frost-bitten, 
and one man in the second corps froze to death while on 
picket-duty. Capt. G. S. Burnham thus v^^rote of the in- 
cident, entitling his poem — 

DEAD, — EN BIVOUAC. 

By the margin of the river, 

'Midst the plunging snow and sleet, 

On the picket-post they shiver. 
As they pace their lonely beat. 



190 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Of the loved one calmly sleeping, 

Safe from cold, alarm, or fight, 
They are thinking, whilst they're keeping 

*' Watch-in-watch " this bitter night. 

Near the Rapid Ann we rested, 

After weeks and months of toil, 
(Faith and valor meanwhile tested,) 

On Virginia's " sacred soil." 
By the lonely weird camp-fire. 

Hard upon the foeman's track, 
Mid the gloom and dampness dire. 

We lay down en bivouac. 

All is well ! " the sentry uttered 

Far away upon the right ; 
' All is well ! " the centre muttered ; 

Then the left. 'Twas dead of night. 
Still the storm was fiercely raging ; 

Bitter blasts came down the vale 
And the elements were waging 

Ruthless war amid that gale. 

But the sentinels kept pacing, — 

Pacing up and down their track ; 
While the Storm-King still kept tracing 

Snowy ridges front and back. 
Ah ! that air was deathly frigid. 

And the sleet came tempest-tost ; 
But the orders out were rigid, — 

" Not a man must quit his post." 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 191 

For in front (we'd had the warning), 

Massed in force, the rebels lay ; 
Yet we looked for, prayed for, morning, 

Though 't should prove our final day ! 
Hours passed. One watcher, weary, 

Faltered, halted, breathed a moan ; 
Then, amidst the darkness dreary, 

Failed, and sank to earth, alone. 

When the gray light broke at dawning, 

Calm, beneath a friendly tree, 
Blanched and still lay Harry Corning ! 

Sleeping on his post was he ? 
Surely no ! A soldier braver 

Never met or charged the foe : 
Such true hearts are few ; and never 

Could he fail in duty so ! 

" Forward ! " came the word. We lifted 

Quickly up his stiffened form : 
Round it wreaths of snow had drifted ; 

But his heart no more was warm. 
He had frozen dead on picket : 

Dreadful fate was this, alack ! 
And we laid him 'neath the thicket 

Where he died en bivouac. 

Hear "Carleton's" testimony to the bravery of our men 
in that great battle before Richmond : — 

" Massachusetts Troops. — Gentlemen testify to the 
bravery and valor of the Massachusetts troops. The Nine- 



192 FIELD, GUN-BOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

teenth, Col. Hinks, in the fight on Monday, behaved with un- 
paralleled bravery. Col. Hinks and Lieut.-Col. Devereux 
were wounded, and Major Howe killed ; also a large 
number of captains and lieutenants were either killed or 
wounded. Notwithstanding this terrible decimation, it 
never wavered, never flinched, but stood to the last, and 
joined in that last onset which sent the rebels back to Rich- 
mond, defeated, routed. The same may be said of the 
Sixteenth, Col. Wyman ; and of the Ninth, Col. Cass. The 
Ninth was terribly cut up on Friday ; but on Monday it 
was as ready as ever to engage in the conflict. I have no 
high-sounding panegyric for their bravery, their cool, steady 
conduct, their unswerving obedience to orders. Simple words 
are best. They covered themselves with glory ; they sus- 
tained their mother's honor. The living and the lost alike 
did their duty. 

" And so the sons of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 
and Rhode Island. Connecticut, I believe, had not the 
honor of being there. It was Vermont, under Gen. Smith, 
which poured upon the enemy's flank with such terrible 
effect on Sunday. 

" "Waterloo nor Borodino saw no braver fighting. The 
men of this generation are not degenerated in physical 
vigor, heroism, or courage. Civilization, long years of 
prosperity, of commercial transactions, have not dwarfed 
us. After a half-century of peace, we are still great-hearted 
in war, not for love of glory, not for conquest, — we are 
not intermeddlers in the affairs of other nations, like the 
foreign monarchies, — but to preserve the garnered wealth of 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 193 

ages ; to save liberty ; to hand down to all who shall follow 
us a priceless boon, bought with blood, like the gift of the 
Son of God. It is this which makes men great in this strife ; 
which makes this a holy war ; and which, through all coming 
time, will keep forever green the graves of the fallen, and 
forever blessed theii* memory." 

The following is an extract from " Carleton's " description 
of one of the days of the battle, when victory, for the mo- 
ment, hovered over our beloved banner : — 

'' Early in the afternoon, the enemy in strong force ap- 
peared, opening with artillery, and advancing division after 
division of infantry in solid masses. We resisted bravely, 
but were compelled to fall back to a new position. The 
enemy followed, employing his old tactics of hurling masses 
of men, now upon the right, now upon the left, and now 
suddenly in the centre. We held our ground unaided till six 
o'clock. Our ranks were terribly thinned, and we were 
compelled to bring up McCall once more. Our division 
had been in nearly all the fights ; it was worn out : but, 
with hearts as true as steel, we responded to the order. Si- 
multaneously upon our advance came fresh troops from 
Richmond ; and loud and terrific as at any time during the 
six-days' fighting roared the contest. But the masses of 
the enemy rolled along the road. Their leaders had no care 
for saving life. This was war, — a strife for mastery. It 
was their determination to win, no matter what it cost. 
They rushed on impetuously, charged upon our batteries, 
captured Bendall's, and took a large number of prisoners. 

13 



194 FIELD, (WNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Here the brave and efficient commander of the corps, Gen. 
McCall, went down at the head of hig troops, supposed to 
be badly wounded. A score of officers fell ; the lines gave 
way : it Avas a critical moment. Now or never was brave 
work to be done ; now or never was the army to be saved. 
All hearts felt it ; all hands were ready. Men lived ages 
in those moments. Oh ! you who live far away among 
peaceful valleys, on sunny hillsides, with smiling children at 
your feet, reading this tame account, cannot know the thrill 
which brave men feel when the heart Avells up from its 
inmost depths to dare all, to do all that God has given, to 
save defeat. Untutored men look with clearest visions in 
such moments down the future ages. They see, they feel, 
that uncounted millions are beckoning them to do their 
duty now. They are great moments ! 

" Sedgwick came ; Hooker and Kearney came, — Hooker 
with the Second New-Hampshire, and First and Eleventh 
Massachusetts ; Kearney with the life-blood of New Jersey : 
brave men, all of them. They rallied for a desperate charge ; 
one which has determination in it ; when every man feels 
that he stands at the gateway of centuries, as Leonidas 
stood at Thermopylas. Twenty-four cannon additional were 
brought up. The united divisions, firm and unyielding as 
the granite of their native mountains, moved to the charge, 
' Onward, right onward ! ' unheeding death or life. They 
came upon the enemy like a thunderbolt ; bore down the 
living masses in front as if they were automatons ; sent them 
flying over the field ; and captured twelve pieces of artillery, 



BATTLE-SCENES. — Alt MY OF THE POTOMAC. 195 

one brigade, including three regiments ; also Col. Pendleton 
of the Louisiana battalion, and Ex-Congressman Lamar of 
the First Georgia E-egiment. 

" It was the finale. The enemy was defeated at last. He 
had come on with high hopes : he retired discomfited. It 
was a brilliant victory : it inspirited our troops. Here let 
me speak of the influence of music. While the fight was 
going on, Gen. Morell ordered the bands to play. For a 
month they have been silent, under orders. They gave 
'Yankee Doodle,' the 'Star-spangled Banner,' and 'Hail 
Columbia.' It was like bread to a hungry man. The troops 
felt the soul-stirring strains, and forgot that they were tired, 
hungry, exhausted, and ready to faint." 

But these chapters cannot contain a complete record of all 
the battles fought, nor even allusions to them all. It is said 
that " the number of battles fought during the late war is 
two hundred and fifty-two. Of these the soil of Virginia 
drank the blood of eighty-nine ; Tennessee witnessed thirty- 
seven ; Missouri, twenty-five ; Georgia, twelve ; South Caro- 
lina, ten ; Nortli Carolina, eleven ; Alabama, seven ; Florida, 
five ; Kentucky, fourteen ; the Indian Territory and New 
Mexico, one each. Once the wave of war rolled into a 
Northern State, and broke in the great billow of Gettysburg. 
Of the battles enumerated, sixteen were naval achieve- 
ments." 

Of one of these, fought in 1864, the following is an in- 
cident which was narrated by a correspondent of the "New- 
York Tribune," and versified by George H. Boker : — 



196 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, 

IN THE WILDERNESS, 

May r, 1864. 

Mangled, uncared for, suffering, through the night, 
With heavenly patience the poor boy had lain : 
Under the dreary shadows, left and right, 

Groaned on the wounded, stiffened out the slain. 
What faith sustained his lone 
Brave heart to make no moan. 
To send no cry fi'om that blood-sprinkled sod, 
Is a close mystery with him and God. 

But when the light came, and the morning dew 

Glittered around him like a golden lake, 
And every dripping flower with deepened hue 
Looked through its tears for very pity's sake, 
He moved his aching head 
Upon its rugged bed, 
And smiled, as a blue violet, virgin meek, 
Laid her pure kiss upon his withered cheek. 

At once there circled in his waking heart 

A thousand memories of distant home, — 
Of how those same blue violets would start 
' Along his native fields ; and some would roam 

Down his dear humming brooks, 

To hide in secret nooks. 
And, shyly met, in nodding circles swing. 
Like gossips murmuring at belated Spring. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 197 

And then he thought of the beloved hands 

That with his own had plucked the modest flower ; 
The blue-eyed maiden, crowned with golden bands, 
Who ruled as sovereign of that sunny hour, — 
She at whose soft command 
He joined the mustering band ; 
She for whose sake he lay so firm and still. 
Despite his pangs, nor questioned then her will. 

So, lost in thought, scarce conscious of the deed. 

Culling the violets, here and there he crept 
Slowly, ah ! slowly ; for his wound would bleed : 
And the sweet flowers themselves half smiled, half wept, 
To be thus gathered in 
By hands so pale and thin, 
By fingers trembling as they neatly laid 
Stem upon stem, and bound them in a braid. 

The strangest posy ever fashioned yet 

Was clasped against the bosom of the lad, 
As we, the seekers for the wounded, set 

His form upon our shoulders, bowed and sad ; 
Though he but seemed to think 
How violets nod and wink : 
And as we cheered him, for the path was wild, 
He only looked upon his flowers, and smiled. 

One of the brilliant exploits of the war w^as the cavalry 
reconnoissance of Fredericksburg by Capt. Dalilgren and 
fifty-seven men of the First Indiana and a portion of the 
Third Ohio Kegiments. The following is an extract from 
" Carleton's " letter describing the exploit : — 



198 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" The enemy was partly in saddle. There was a hurry- 
ing to and fro, mounting of steeds, confusion, and fright 
among the people. The rebel cavalry were in every street. 
Capt. Dahlgren resolved to fall upon them like a thunder- 
bolt. Increasing his trot to a gallop, the fifty-seven daunt- 
less men dashed into town, cheering, with sabres glittering 
in the sun, riding recklessly upon the enemy, who waited 
but a moment in the main street, then ignominiously fled. 
Having cleared the main thoroughfare, Capt. Dahlgren 
swept through a cross-street upon another squadron with the 
same success. There was a trampling of hoofs, a clattering 
of scabbards, and the sharp ringing cut of the sabres, the 
pistol flash, the going-down of horsemen and rider, the 
gory gashes of the sabre-stroke, a cheering and hurrahing, 
and screaming of frightened women and children, a short, 
sharp, decisive contest, and the town was in the possession of 
the gallant men. Once the rebels attempted to recover what 
they had lost : but a second impetuous charge drove them 
back again, and Capt. Dahlgren gathered the fruits of the vic- 
tory, — thirty-one prisoners, horses, accoutrements, sabres ; 
held possession of the town for three hours ; and retired, los- 
ing but one of his glorious band killed and two wounded, 
leaving a dozen of the enemy killed and wounded. I would 
like to give the names of these heroes if I had them. The 
one brave fellow who lost his life had fought through all 
the conflict ; but, seeing a large rebel flag waving from a build- 
ing, he secured it, A\Tapped it around his body, and was re- 
turning to his command, when a fatal shot was fired from a 
window, probably by a citizen. He was brought to the 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 199 

northern shore, and there buried by his fellow-soldiers be- 
neath the forest pines. Capt. Carr, of Company B, encoun- 
tered a rebel officer, and ran his sabre through the body of 
his enemy. Orderly Fitter had a hand-to-hand struggle 
with a rebel soldier, and, by a dexterous blow, struck him 
from his horse, inflicting a severe wound upon the head. 
He seized the fellow's horse, a splendid animal, his carabine 
and sabre. His own sabre still bears the blood-stains, — 
not a pleasant sight, but yet in keeping with war. 

" It thrills one to look at it, to hear the story, to picture 
the encounter, — the wild dash, the sweep like a whirlwind, 
the cheers, the rout of the enemy, their confusion, the 
victory ! — victory not for personal glory nor for ambition, 
but for a beloved country ; for that which is dearer than 
life, — the thanks of the living, the gratitude of unnumbered 
millions yet to be ! Brave sons of the West, this is your 
glory ; this your reward ! No exploit of the war equals it. 
It will go down to history as one of the bravest achievements 
on record." 

In the battle of Cedar Creek, the Thirty-fourth Massa- 
chusetts behaved gallantly. It was the only regiment 
which did not break in the panic with which the day opened. 
Gen. Sheridan honored the regiment by calling for three 
cheers in their behalf. 

The following lines* commemorate their valor. Allu- 
sions are made to their general, Wells, who fell at the head 
of his regiment, which he had himself organized. When 
he was at the first battle of Bull Run, he w^as lieutenant- 

* By Mary Webb, in the Salem Gazette. 



200 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

colonel of the First Massachusetts. He approached the 
batteries, and took up the musket of a disabled soldier. At 
the second battle, his regiment covered the retreat. 

THE MASSACHUSETTS THIRTY-FOURTH. 

They're standing firm in swerveless lines 

That meet the battle shock, 
As ocean's furious charge is met 

By the resisting rock. 

Two hundred men ! — the ranks around 

Breaking in wild dismay, — 
Two hundred men, alone, to quell 

Lee's ruffian chivalry ! 

Two hundred men against the odds 

Of that disastrous fray. 
Before our untamed eagle looks 

Into the eye of day 1 

Around the regimental flag, 

Where thickest volleys pour, 
The loyal-hearted closer press, 

As if he rode before, 

The echo of whose rallying cheer, 

Scarce yet a vanished tone. 
Haunts the proud-battle steeps from whence 

" His soul is marchino; on." 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 201 

White as the plume crest of Navarre 

Flashes his beckoning fame ; 
While, side by side, they're keeping step 

To the music of his name. 

O Mother State ! behold with pride 

The line that will not break ; 
Braid chaplets not unwet with tears, 

For their late leader's sake, — 

He who, in earlier, darker days, 

At once was sAvord and shield ; 
Who even now, in shadowy form, 

Seems master of the field. 

So was our challenged honor held, 

'Till through the valley rang 
The bugle-blast which sounded out 

The charge of Sheridan ! 

There were raids of pluck, dash, and romantic inci- 
dents, in connection with the Army of the Potomac, which 
deserve to live in song and story along with the charge of 

Balaklava, when 

" Into the mouth of hell 
Rode the six hundred." 

Gen. Stoneman's, Col. Kilpatrick's, and other raids, were 
made with great success. The rebels in their advance often 
met with patriotic resistance, even from loyal men " single- 
handed and alone." 



202 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" Near Hancock, an old farmer had some fine horses. 
The rebels undertook to seize them. He loved the animals 
he had raised as he did his life. He was determined not to 
be robbed. 'He informed the rebels that he would shoot the 
man who should attempt to take them. Laughing at his bold 
words, the attempt was made. The heroic old man was true 
to his word. He killed two and wounded three others 
before they killed him." 

But the limits of this chapter forbid allusion to other 
raids or battles than those of Fredericksburg and Gettys- 
burg, and brief sketches of the closing scenes of war in our 
land, when Richmond at last fell into the hands of its law- 
ful owners, and 7iegro soldiers bore the banner of our coun- 
try in triumph along its streets. 

It was determined that the army should cross the river, 
and occupy Fredericksburg. Pontoon-bridges were accord- 
ingly commenced. But this did not please the rebels ; and 
their sharpshooters picked off the engineers so fast, that 
finally it was deemed necessary to shell the town. 

" At ten o'clock, Gen. Burnside gives the order, ' Concen- 
trate the fire of all your guns on the city, and batter it 
down ! ' The artillery of the right, eight batteries, was 
commanded by Col. Hays ; Col. Tompkins, right centre, 
eleven batteries ; Col. Tyler, left centre, seven batteries ; 
Capt. de Russy, left, nine batteries. In a few moments, 
these thirty-five batteries, forming a total of one hundred 
and seventy-nine guns, ranging from ten-pounder Parrotts to 
four and a half inch siege-guns, posted along the convex 
side of the arc of the circle formed by the bend of the 



BATTLE-SCENES. — AltMY OF THE POTOMAC. 203 

river and land opposite Fredericksburg, opened on tlie 
doomed city. For a time, the roar is indescribably awful. 
The city from its walls of brick hurls back a thousand 
echoes, which beat up against the Falmouth Bluff, roll back 
again beyond the town, and then, from the distant hills, once 
more swell over to us, as though the heavens were rent 
asunder. At Gen. Sumner's headquarters, half a mile dis- 
tant, it becomes difficult to converse in a low tone ; while, at 
the batteries, orders must be signalled. By and by the firing 
ceases, and one is almost awe-stricken with the profound 
silence. The mist still clings to the river, the sun struggles 
up red and fiery, and the air is suffocating with the odor of 
gunpowder. Presently the bank of fog begins to lift a little ; 
the glistening roofs gleam faintly through the veil : then the 
sunbeams scatter the clouds that intervene ; and Fredericks- 
burg, utterly desolate, stands out before. A huge column 
of dense black smoke towers like a monument above the 
livid flames that leap and hiss and crackle, licking up the 
snow upon the roofs Avith lambent tongues, and stretching 
like a giant. The guns renew their roar ; and we see the 
solid shot plunge through the masonry as though it were 
pasteboard. Other buildings are fired ; and before sundown a 
score of houses are in ashes, while not one seems to have 
escaped the pitiless storm of iron. A less number have 
been fired than was anticipated; but the damage done by 
solid h!.ot is terrible, and will require years to repair. 

" D.iring the thick of the bombardment, a fresh attempt 
had been made to complete the bridge. It failed ; and evi- 
dently nothing could be done till a party could be thrown 



204 FIELD, GUNBOATy HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

over to clean out the rebels and cover the bridge head. For 
this mission. Gen. Burnside called for volunteers ; and Col. 
Hall, of Fort-Sumter fame, immediately responded, that he 
had a brigade that would do the business. Accordingly, the 
Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth and Twentieth Massa- 
chusetts, two small regiments, numbering in all about four 
hundred men, were selected for the purpose. 

" The plan was, that they should take the pontoon-boats 
of the first bridge, of which there were ten lying on the 
bank of the river, waiting to be added to the half-finished 
bridge, cross over in them, and, landing, drive out the 
rebels. 

" Nothing could be more admirable or more gallant than 
the execution of this daring feat. Rushing down the steep 
banks of the river, the party found temporary shelter behind 
the pontoon-boats lying scattered on the bank, and behind 
piles of planking destined for the covering of the bridge, 
behind rocks, &c. In this situation, they acted some fifteen 
or twenty minutes as sharpshooters ; they and the rebels ob- 
serving each other. In the mean time, new and vigorous 
artillery firing was commenced on our part ; and, just as 
soon as this was fairly developed, the Seventh Michigan 
arose from their crouching-places, rushed for the pontoon- 
boats, and, pushing them into the water, rapidly filled them 
with twenty-five or thirty each. 

'' The first boat pushes off. Now, if ever, is the rebels' 
opportunity. Crack, crack, crack, from fifty lurking 
places, go rebel rifles at the gallant fellows, who, stooping 
low in the bo^t, seek to avoid the fire. The murderous 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 205 

work was well done. Lustily, however, pull the oarsmen ; 
and presently, having passed the middle of the stream, the 
boat and its gallant freight come under cover of the oppo- 
site bluffs. 

" Another and another boat follows. Now is their oppor- 
tunity. Nothing could be more amusing in its way than 
the result. Instantly they see a new turn of affairs. The 
rebels pop up by the hundred, like so many rats, from every 
cellar, rifle-pit, and stone wall, and scamper off up the 
streets of the town. With all their fleetness, however, 
many of them were much too slow. With incredible 
rapidity, the Michigan and Massachusetts boys sweep up 
the hill, making a rush for the lurking-places occupied by the 
rebels, and gaining them ; each man capturing his two or 
three prisoners. The pontoon-boats, on their return trip, 
took over more than a hundred of these fellows. 

" You can imagine with what intense interest the cross- 
ing of the first boat-load of our men was watched by the 
numerous spectators on the shore, and with what enthusias- 
tic shouts their landing on the opposite side was greeted. It 
was an authentic piece of human heroism, which moves 
men as nothing else can. The problem was solved. This 
flash of bravery had done what scores of batteries and tons 
of metal had failed to accomplish. The country will not 
forget that little band. 

" The party once across, and the rebels cleaned out, it 
took the engineers but a brief period to complete the bridge. 
They laid hold with a will, plunging waist-deep into the 
water, and working as men work who are under inspiration. 



206 FIEin, GVNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

In less than half an hour, the bridge was completed ; and the 
head of the column of the right grand division, consisting 
of Gen. Howard's command, was moving upon it over the 
Rappahannock. A feeble attempt from the rebel batteries 
was made to shell the troops in crossing ; but it failed com- 
pletely." 

" Carletou " thus describes the bombardment and street- 
fight:— 

'• I am informed, that, when Sumner made his demand 
two weeks ago for its surrender, the ladies of the place begged 
Lee not to surrender it. If so, they have met with a ter- 
rible retribution. The place is sacked, completely gutted. 
I do not believe there is a house which has not been ran- 
sacked from cellar to attic by the soldiers. The tremendous 
storm of iron hurled upon it has knocked it pretty nearly to 
pieces. Four or five buildings were burned ; and the rest 
will need a great deal of joiners' and plasterers' work to 
restore them to their former excellence. One hundred and 
seventy pieces of artillery were at one time playing upon 
the town ; and, strange to say, there were but two or three 
casualties, although there Avere a large number of women 
and children in the place who sought refuge in the cellars. 
One citizen displayed great bravery when the bombardment 
was heaviest, and his house in danger of being burned. He 
drew water from a well, and saved his dwelling, though hit 
several times by pieces of brick torn from the walls by pass- 
ing shot. 

" It was about dark before Gen. Howard was ready to 
push his troops into the streets. The rebel sharpshooters 



BATTLE-SCENES. — AEMY OF THE POTOMAC. 207 

were concealed in the houses, and poured rattling volleys 
upon the advancing columns. The Twentieth Massachu- 
setts went up the principal street from the bridge, and met 
Avith great opposition. The houses blazed with musketry ; 
but nothing could withstand their impetuosity. They ad- 
vanced to the houses, broke open the doors, and bayonetted 
all who resisted. The Fifty-ninth New York joined them. 
The Nineteenth Massachusetts went up another street ; 
and for two hours there was a continuous crack of rifles and 
muskets. The brigade cleared three or four streets, and 
then rested for the night, — Gen. Howard establishing 
his quarters in the splendid residence of Douglas Gor- 
don, one of the richest men in Virginia, and a red-hot 
rebel. 

" The shot made ugly holes in the house ; and the soldiers, 
before the arrival of Gen. Howard, sacked it. Could its 
proprietor, who is worth two millions, see it, he would 
probably dislike the Yankees quite as much as ever. 

" I have been watching the closing scene. I cannot pic- 
ture it truly. The sun has gone down. The sky is with- 
out a cloud. The western horizon is dyed with richest hues, 
— such as fill the souls of poets and artists with strange 
delight. The shadows deepen : the growing darkness shuts 
out the masses of men upon the hills ; but, looking into the 
west, I see in profile, along the hills, the cannoneers manip- 
ulating at their pieces. Then come a flash and a white 
cloud. There is a screaming in the air ; and far over the 
river you see a second flash, — a little handful of cloud, 
which dissolves into thin vapor, and floats away. You see 



208 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

it all along the hills, — the flashes, the clouds; you hear 
a continued pounding, rolling, like grumbling of angry 
thunder reverberating along the stream. 

" In the town are blood-red flames illuminating the ruins 
of dwellings. You see that brick walls are standing ; for 
the flames shine through the windows. It is not in me to 
exult at the sight. I pity the houseless, homeless. wander- 
ers ; but so falls the chastisement, — a just retribution to the 
guilty. On pitying the sufferings of the innocent children, 
I cannot forget the thousands of mourners, throughout the 
land, mourning for those who have been murdered by 
the Rebellion. 

'' The cannon cease ; but now the musketry begins. 
All day long, there has been a deafening fire, — single 
shots from the pickets, like stray rain-drops upon the 
roof. 

" The fire increases ; the drops become a shower. It is 
like pouring peas into a pan, like hemlock upon the fire, like 
thunder growling between the clouds. The air is full of 
hissings, sharp cutting sounds, as the leaden rain sweeps in 
deadly gusts. The battle-smoke is settling along the valley 
so densely, that the flashes are indistinctly seen. You see 
only a continual glimmering, like heat-lightning on a sum- 
mer's night. So, till the last of daylight fades, the combat 
continues. " 

The threatened invasion of Pennsylvania by the rebel 
Gen. Lee, brought on, in July, 1863, the decisive battle of 
Gettysburg. Our gallant heroes went into the fight with 
the spirit of Holmes's — 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 209 



TRUMPET-SONG. 

The battle-drum's loud rattle is rending the air ; 
The troopers all are mounted, their sabres are bare ; 
The guns are unlimbered, the bayonets shine : 
Hark, hark ! ' tis the trumpet-call ! Wheel into line ! 
Ta ra ! ta ta ta ! 
Trum trum, tra ra ra ra ! 
Beat drums and blow trumpets I 
Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 

March onward, soldiers, onward ! the strife is begun ; 
Loud bellowing rolls the boom of the black-throated gun ; 
The rifles are cracking, the torn banners toss, 
The sabres are clashing, the bayonets cross. 
Tara! 

Down with the leaguing liars, the traitors to their trust, 
Who trampled the fair charter of Freedom in dust ! 
They falter, they waver, they scatter, they run ! 
The field is our own, and the battle is won ! 
Tara! 

God save our mighty people, and prosper our cause ! 
We're fighting for our nation, our land, and our laws ! 
Though tyrants may hate us, their threats we defy ; 
And drum-beat and trumpet shall peal our reply ! 
Ta ra ! ta ta ta ! 
Beat drums and blow trumpets I 
Trum trum, tra ra ra ! 
Hurrah, boys, hurrah ! 
14 



210 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Mr. Samuel Wilkeson of the " NcAv-York Times," whose 
son was mortally wounded at Gettysburg, thus describes the 
battle-scenes : — 

" The battle of Gettysburg, — I am told that it commenced 
on the 1st of July, a mile north of the town, between two 
weak brigades of infantry and some doomed artillery, and 
the whole force of the rebel army. Among other costs of 
this error was the death of Keynolds. Its value was price- 
less, however ; though priceless was the young and the old 
blood with which it was bought. The error put us on the 
defensive, and gave us the choice of position. From the 
moment that our artillery and infantry rolled back through 
the main street of Gettysburg, and rolled out of the town to 
the circle of eminence south of it, we were not to attack, but 
to be attacked. The risks and the disadvantages of the com- 
ing battle were the enemy's. Ours were the heights for 
artillery ; ours the short inside lines for manoeuvring and 
re-enforcing ; ours the covers of stone walls, fences, and the 
crests of hills. The ground upon which we were driven to 
accept battle was wonderfully favorable to us. A popular 
description of it would be to say that it was in form an 
elongated and somewhat sharpened horse-shoe, with the toe 
to Gettysburg, and the heel to the south. 

" Lee's plan of battle was simple. He massed his troops 
upon the east side of this shoe of position, and thundered on 
it obstinately to break it. The shelling of our batteries 
from the nearest overlooking hill, and the unflinching cour- 
age and complete discipline of the Army of the Potomac, 
repelled the attack. It was renewed at the point of the 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 211 

shoe ; renewed desperately at the south-west heel ; renewed 
on the western side with an effort consecrated to success by 
Ewell's earnest oaths , and on which the fate of the invasion 
of Pennsylvania was fully put at stake. Only a perfect in- 
fantry, and an artillery educated in the midst of charges of 
hostile brigades, could possibly have sustained this assault. 

" Hancock's corps did sustain it, and has covered itself 
with immortal honors by its constancy and courage. The 
total wreck of Cushing's battery ; the lists of its killed and 
wounded ; the losses of officers, men, and horses, Crowen 
sustained ; and the marvellous outspread upon the board of 
death of dead soldiers and dead animals, of dead soldiers 
in blue, and dead soldiers in gray, more marvellous to me 
than anything I have ever seen in war, — are a ghastly and 
shocking testimony to the terrible fight of the second corps, 
that none will gainsay. That corps will ever have the dis- 
tinction of breaking the pride and power of the rebel inva- 
sion. 

" The battle commenced at daylight on the side of the 
horse-shoe position, exactly opposite to that which Ewell 
had sworn to crush through. Musketry preceded the rising 
of the sun. A thick wood veiled this fight ; but out of its 
leafy darkness arose the smoke ; and the surging and swell- 
ing of the fire, from intermittent to continuous and crushing, 
told of the wise tactics of the rebels of attacking in force, 
and changing their troops. Seemingly, the attack of the 
day was to be made through the wood. The demonstration 
was protracted ; it was absolutely preparative : but there 
was no artillery - fire accompanying the musketry ; and 



212 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

shrewd officers in our western front mentioned, with the 
gravity due to the fact, that the rebels had felled trees at in- 
tervals upon the edge of the wood they occupied in face of 
our position. These were breastworks for the protection 
of artillery-men. 

" Suddenly, and about ten in the forenoon, the firing on 
the east side and everywhere about our lines ceased. A silence 
as of deep sleep fell upon the field of battle. Our army 
cooked, ate, and slumbered. The rebel army moved one 
hundred and twenty guns to the west, and massed there 
Longstreet's corps and Hill's corps, to hurl them upon the 
really weakest point of our entire position. 

"Eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, one o'clock. In the 
shadows cast by the tiny farm-house, 16 by 20, which Gen. 
Meade had made his headquarters, lay wearied staif-officers 
and tired reporters. There was not wanting to the peace- 
fulness of the scene the singing of a bird, which had a nest 
in a peach-tree within the tiny yard of the white-washed 
cottage. 

" In the midst of its warbling, a shell screamed over the 
house, instantly followed by another and another ; and in a 
moment the air was full of the most complete artillery pre- 
lude to an infantry battle that was ever exhibited. Every 
size and form of shell known to British and to American 
gunnery shrieked, whirled, moaned, whistled, and wrath- 
fully fluttered over our ground. As many as six in a sec- 
ond, constantly two in a second, bursting and screaming 
over and around the headquarters, made a very hell of fire 
that amazed the oldest officers. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 213 

" They burst in the yard ; burst next to the fence on both 
sides, garnished as usual with the hitched horses of aides and 
orderlies. The fastened animals reared and plunged with 
terror. Then one fell, then another : sixteen lay dead and 
mangled before the fire ceased, still fastened by their halters, 
which gave the impression of their being wickedly tied up 
to die painfully. These brute victims of a cruel war 
touched all hearts. Through the midst of the storm of 
screaming and exploding shells, an ambulance, driven by 
its frenzied conductor at full speed, presented to all of us 
the marvellous spectacle of a horse going rapidly on three 
legs. A hinder one had been shot off at the hock. 

"A shell tore up the little step of the headquarters' cottage, 
cutting and ripping bags of oats as with a knife. Another 
soon carried off one of its pillars. Soon a spherical case 
burst opposite the open door ; another ripped through the low 
garret. The remaining pillar went almost immediately to 
the howl of a fixed shot that Whitworth must have made. 
During this fii*e, the horses at twenty and thirty feet distant 
were receiving their death ; and soldiers in Federal blue 
were torn to pieces in the road, and died with the peculiar 
yells that blend the extorted cry of pain with horror and de- 
spair. Not an orderly, not an ambulance, not a straggler, 
was to be seen upon the plain swept by this tempest of 
orchestral death thirty minutes after it commenced. 

" Were not one hundred and twenty pieces of artillery 
trying to cut from the field every battery w^e had in position 
to resist their purposed infantry attack, and to sweep away 
the slight defences behind which our infantry were waiting? 



214 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PlilSON. 

Forty minutes, fifty minutes, counted on watches ihat ran, oh 
so languidly ! Shells tlirough the two lower rooms. A shell 
into the chimney, that fortunately did not explode. Shells 
in the yard. The air thicker and fuller, and more deafen- 
ing with tlie howling and whirring of these infernal missiles. 
The chief of staff struck. Seth Williams, loved and re- 
spected through the army, separated from instant death by 
two inches of space vertically measured. An aide bored 
with a fragment of iron through the bone of the arm. 
Another cut with an exploded piece. And the time meas- 
ured on the sluggish watches was one hour and forty min- 
utes. 

" Then there was a lull, and we knew that the rebel in- 
fantry was charging. And splendidly they did this work, — 
the highest and severest test of the stuff that soldiers are 
made of. Hill's division in the line of battle came first on 
the double-quick, their muskets at the ' right-shoulder-shift.* 
Longstreet's came as the support, at the usual distance, with 
war-cries and a savage insolence as yet untutored by defeat. 
They rushed in perfect order across the open field, up to the 
very muzzles of the guns, which tore lanes through them as 
they came. 

" But they met men who were their equals in spirit, and 
their superiors in tenacity. There never was better fighting 
since Thermopylce than was done yesterday by our infantry 
and artillery. The rebels were over our defences. They 
had cleaned cannoneers and horses from one of the iruns, 
and were whirling it around to use upon us. The bayonet 
drove them back. But so hard pressed was this brave in- 



BATTLE-SCENES. — Alt MY OF THE POTOMAC. 215 

fantry, that at one time, from the exhaustion of their ammu- 
nition, every battery upon the principal crest of attack was 
silent, except Cro wen's. 

" His services of grape and canister were awful. It en- 
abled our line, outnumbered two to one, first to beat back 
Longstreet, and then to charge upon him and take a great num- 
ber of his men and himself prisoners. Strange sight ! So 
terrible was our musketry and artillery fire, that when Armi- 
stead's brigade was checked in its charge, and stood reeling, 
all of its men dropped their muskets, and crawled on their 
hands and knees underneath the stream of shot, till close to 
our troops, where they made signs of surrendering. They 
passed through our ranks scarcely noticed, and slowly went 
down the slope to the road in the rear. 

" Before they got there, the grand charge of Ewell, sol- 
emnly sworn to and carefully prepared, had failed. The 
rebels had retreated to their lines, and 'opened anew the 
storm of shell and shot from their one hundred and twenty 
guns. Those who remained at the riddled headquarters 
will never forget the crouching, dodging, and running of 
the butternut-colored captives when they got under this, 
their friends' fire. It was appalling to as good soldiers even 
as they were. 

" What remains to say of the fight? It straggled surlily 
on the middle of the horse-shoe on the west ; grew big and 
angry on the heel at the south-west ; lasted there till three 
o'clock in the evening, when the fighting sixth corps went 
joyously by as a re-enforcement, through the Avood bright 
with coffee-pots on the fire." 



216 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

The following is from the invaluable pen of " Carleton," 
who was on the memorable spot : — 

" At daybreak, I Avas in saddle for a ride over the battle- 
field. Reaching the top of the hill at the cemetery, I found 
the men of the first, eleventh, and twelfth corps, which took 
their positions on Wednesday, still in place. They had not 
moved. There was still a rattling fire along the picket- 
lines. Gen. Howard and staff were in the cemetery. How 
changed that spot ! On Wednesday, its gravelled walks were 
smooth and clean, the flowers were in bloom, the shrubs 
and trees unscarred, the monuments undefaced, the marble 
slabs as pure and white as snow. There were broken wheels, 
splintered caissons, horses shot in the neck, in the head, 
with their bowels torn out, legs broken ; here and there was 
a dead soldier wrapped in his blanket. The marble slabs 
were shivered, the iron railing arovmd the enclosures of the 
dead broken, the ground ploughed up where solid shot had 
struck, holes excavated by exploding shells, — an indescriba- 
ble scene of desolation. 

"Fearful was the fire upon that point. Fifty shells a 
minute exploded around that spot ; and yet it was held by 
the eleventh corps and by Osborne's batteries. Not for 
a moment was there a thought of abandoning that posi- 
tion. 

" How these batteries flamed and smoked in that last ter- 
rible attack yesterday afternoon ! It was as Sinai, fearful 
to behold. The earth quaked and trembled. How destruc- 
tive the fire of those guns along that ridge from the ceme- 
tery down past the second and third corps, toward Round 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 217 

Top ! There, fifteen or twenty rods distant, was the left of 
the rebel columns of Hill and Longstreet, near the little 
white-washed cottage on the Emmettsburg Road. There 
you see the wind-rows of dead, lying just as Osborne's grape 
and canister raked them, in piles, as if a thunderbolt had 
fallen upon the one living mass. 

" There was determination on the part of the rebels to 
win, equal determination on the part of the Union men to 
hold the position. "When the fight was hottest, a gunner in 
one of Osborne's batteries was severely wounded ; and unable 
to stand, but seating himself behind the piece, he twice 
sighted it before he would allow himself to be carried to the 
rear. 

" Men fired in each other's faces not five feet apart. 
There were bayonet-thrusts, cuttings with sabres, pistol- 
shots, cool, deliberate movements on the part of some ; hot, 
passionate, desperate efforts with others ; hand-to-hand con- 
tests. There were recklessness of life, tenacity of purpose, 
oaths, curses, yells, hurrahs, shoutings : men went down, 
some on their faces, some leaping into the air with excla- 
mations wrung from their hearts. There were ghastly heaps 
of dead where the cannon tore open the ranks. 

" The hours became eternities ; the minutes, ages ; and 
yet the line held out. Thin as it was, it was strong and 
tenacious, the best of mettle, not to be broken or twisted by 
the tremendous force beating and pounding at the centre. 

"Last night I rode along the ridge. It was past nine 



218 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

o'clock. The pickets were at it, our own out by the Em- 
mettsburg Road. Occasionally a shell screamed past them 
from the batteries opposite the third corps. The enemy 
were beaten. The troops were jubilant. The third corps 
was cheering : their shouts must have been very distinctly 
heard by the rebels across the fields. 

" At headquarters, in the oak grove on the Taneytown 
Road, there was a collection of officers. Gen. Meade rode 
in, and sat down upon a stone, w^eary with the hard day's 
work. An officer reported that Pleasanton had taken sev- 
eral hundred prisoners. 

" ' Bully for him ! — bully, bully, bully, all round ! ' was 
his good-natured, bluff, frank response. 

"A band struck up, 'Hail to the Chief!' The music, 
never more pleasing to the ear than then, mingled with the 
cheers still ringing at the base of Round Top, and was borne 
on the evening air across the fields to the discomfited enemy. 
The men were in good heart to-day. They felt that at last 
the Army of the Potomac is a power in the world. It has 
worked hard, suffisred much, has been abused, has been 
thought to be of no account ; but it has written a page of 
history, — a bloody page, but one which will be forever 
honorable in the book of time." 

In a previous narration of the day's events, Mr. Coffin 
says, — - 

" What deeds of valor w^ere performed ! There were 
many heroes that day. A rebel officer seized the colors of 
the Fourth Michigan, Col. Jeffords, seizing his revolver, 
shot him, and regained the flag. A rebel soldier with a 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 219 

bayonet-thrust run the colonel through the body, inflicting 
a mortal wound ; but, as he fell, he held the flag he loved so 
well with a firmer grasp, clasping it in his arms, and press- 
ing it to his heart. The rebel soldier, too, went down, his 
brain pierced by a bullet from Major Hall's revolver." 
Among other thrilling scenes was the following : — 
" When the fight was most terrific. Col. Hall, command- 
ing the brigade, quietly ordered the color-bearer of the 
Fifteenth Massachusetts to advance upon the enemy alone. 
It was like an electric impulse. It thrilled the entire line. 
Men forgot that they were on the defensive ; and, without an 
order from a commanding officer, the line, as if bent on one 
common purpose, surged ahead. Thousands of bayonets 
flashed in the beams of the setting sun. Then came a wild 
hurrah, and the mass of rebels melted away over the plain." 
" Carleton " adds, in language that loyal hearts echo, — 
"The invasion of the North was over ; the power of the 
Southern Confederacy broken. There, at that sunset hour, 
I could discern the future, — no longer an overcast sky, but 
clear, unclouded starlight ; a country redeemed, saved, 
baptized, consecrated anew to the coming ages. 

"All honor to the heroic living! all glory to the gallant 
dead ! They have not fought in vain : they have not died 
for nought. No man liveth to himself alone. Not for 
themselves, but for their children, for those who may never 
hear of them in their nameless graves, have they yielded 
life ; for the future ; for all that is good, pure, holy, true, 
just ; for humanity, righteousness, peace ; for paradise on 
earth ; for Christ and for God, — they have given themselves 



220 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

a willing sacrifice. Blessed be their memory forever- 
more ! " 

One man who resided near the battle-ground has earned 
the title of " Hero of Gettysburg." His name is John 
Burns : he is of Scotch descent, but was bom in New 
Jersey. He fought in the war of 1812. 

"On the morning of the first day's fight at Gettysburg, he 
sent his wife away, telling her that he would take care of 
the house. The firing was near by, over Seminary Ridge. 
Soon a wounded soldier came into the town, and stopped at 
an old house on the opposite corner. Burns saw the poor 
fellow lay down his musket ; and the inspiration to go into 
the battle seems then first to have seized him. He went 
over, and demanded the gun. 

" ' What are you going to do with it? ' asked the soldier. 

" ' I'm going to shoot some of the damned rebels ! ' replied 
John. 

" He is not a swearing man ; and the strong adjective is to 
be taken in a strictly literal, not a profane sense. 

" Having obtained the gun, he pushed out on the 
Chambersburg Pike, and was soon in the thick of the 
skirmish. 

" * I wore a high-crowned hat and a long-tailed blue, and 
I was seventy years old,' said he. 

" The sight of so old a man, in such costume, rushing fear- 
lessly forward to get a shot in the very front of the battle, 
of course attracted attention. He fought with the Seventh 
Wisconsin Regiment, the colonel of which ordered him 
back, and questioned him ; and finally, seeing the old man's 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 221 

patriotic determination, gave him a good rifle in place of 
the musket he had brouglit Avith him. 

" ' Are you a good shot ? ' 

" ' Tolerable good,' said John, who is an old fox-hunter. 

" ' Do you see that rebel riding yonder?' 

"-'I do.' 

" ' Can you fetch him? ' 

" ' I can try.' 

" The old man took deliberate aim, and fired. He does not 
say he killed the rebel, but simply that his shot was cheered 
by the Wisconsin boys, and that afterwards the horse the 
rebel rode was seen galloping with an empty saddle. 
'That's all I know about it.' 

*' He fought until our forces were driven back in the after- 
noon. He had already received two slight wounds, and a 
third one through the arm, to which he paid little attention. 
' Only the blood running down my hand bothered me a 
heap.' Then, as he was slowly falling back with the rest, 
he received a final shot through the leg. ' Down I went, 
and the whole rebel army ran over me.' Helpless, nearly 
bleeding to death from his wounds, he lay upon the field all 
night. 

" 'About sun-up, the next morning, I crawled to a neigh- 
bor's house, and found it full of Avounded rebels.' The 
neighbor afterwards took him to his own house, which had 
also been turned into a rebel hospital." * 

The writer of the above adds, — 

" Of the magnitude of a battle fought so desperately dur- 

* Atlantic Monthly, November, 1865. 



222 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

ing three clays, by armies numbering not far from two hun- 
dred thousand men, no adequate conception can be formed. 
One or two facts may help to give a faint idea of it. Mr. 
Gulp's meadow, below Cemetery Hill, a lot of near twenty 
acres, was so thickly strewn with rebel dead, that Mr! Gulp 
declared he ' could have walked across it without put- 
ting foot upon the ground ! ' Upwards of three hundred Gon- 
federates were buried in that fair field in one hole. On Mr. 
Gwynn's farm, below Bound Top, near five hundred sons 
of the South lie promiscuously heaped in one huge sepulture. 
Of the quantities of iron, of the wagon-loads of arms, 
knapsacks, haversacks, and clothing, which strewed the 
country, no estimate can be made. Government set a guard 
over these ; and, for weeks, officials were busy in gathering 
together all the more valuable spoils. The harvest of bul- 
lets was left for the citizens to glean. Many of the poorest 
people did a thriving business, picking up these missiles of 
death, and selling them to dealers, two of whom alone sent 
to Baltimore fifty tons of lead collected in this way from 
this battle-field ! " 

Th^ Army of the Potomac were engaged in other battles, 
— those which resulted in the capture of many important 
towns and cities, and which gave a place to plant the flag 
of our country in most of the rebel States, long before the 
four battle-years were ended. Besides the famous battles 
already specially mentioned, the army wrought wonders under 
Gens. Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan, and fought other bat- 
tles equally terrible and more decisive. But space cannot 
here be afibrded to speak of the campaigns of those able 



BATTLE-SCEXES.—ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 223 

generals in detail. We must be content with brief sketches. 
The following depicts Sheridan's splendid achievements at 
Five Forks : it is from the " New-York World : " — 

" A colonel with a shattered regiment came down upon 
us in -a charge. Tlie bayonets were fixed : the men came on 
with a yell. Their gray uniforms seemed black amid the 
smoke. Their preserved colors, torn by grape and ball, 
waved defiantly. Twice they halted, and poured in volleys, 
but came on again like the surge from the fog, depleted, but 
determined : yet in the hot faces of the carabineers they 
read a purpose as resolute, but more calm ; and while they 
pressed along, swept all the while by scathing volleys, a group 
of horsemen took them in flank. 

" It was an awful instant. The horses recoiled ; the char- 
ging column trembled like a single thing : but at once the 
rebels, with rare organization, fell into a hollow square, and 
with solid sheets of steel defied our centaurs. The horse- 
men rode around them in vain : no charge could break the 
shining squares, until our dismounted carabineers poured in 
their volleys afresh, making gaps in the spent ranks ; and tlien 
in their wavering time the cavalry thundered down. The 
rebels could stand no more : they reeled and swayed, and 
fell back broken and beaten ; and on the ground their colo- 
nel lay, sealing his devotion with his life. 

" Through w^ood and brake and swamp, across field and 
trench, we pushed the fighting defenders steadily. * For a 
part of the time, Sheridan himself was there, short and 
broad and active, waving his hat, giving orders, seldom out 
of fire, but never stationary ; and close by fell the long yel- 



224 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

low locks of Custar, sabre extended, fighting like a Viking, 
though he was Avorn and haggard with much work. At four 
o'clock, the rebels were behind their wooden walls at Five 
Forks ; and still the cavalry pressed them hard, in faint 
rather than solemn effort ; while a battalion, dismounted, 
charged squarely upon the face of their breastworks which 
lay in the main on the north side of the White-oak Road. 
Then, while the cavalry worked round toward the rear, the 
infantry of Warren, though commanded by Sheridan, pre- 
pared to take part in the battle. 

" We were already on the rebel right in force, and thinly 
in their rear. Our carabineers were making feint to charge 
in direct front ; and our infantry, four deep, hemmed in their 
entire left. All this they did not for an instant note, so 
thorough was their confusion ; but, seeing it directly, they, 
so far from giving up, concentrated all energy, and fought 
like fiends. They had a battery in position, which belched 
incessantly ; and over the breastworks their musketry made 
one unbroken roll, while against Sheridan's prowlers on 
their left, by skirmish and sortie, they stuck to their sinking 
fortunes, so as to win unwilling applause from mouths of 
wisest censure. 

" It was just at the coming-up of the infantry that Sheri- 
dan's little band was pushed the hardest. At one time, in- 
deed, they seemed about to undergo extermination ; not that 
they wavered, but that they were so vastly overpowered. 
It will remain to the latest time a matter of marvel, that so 
paltry a cavah-y force could press back sixteen thousand in- 
fantry ; but, when the infantry blew like a great barn-door 



BATTLE-SCENES.— AltMY OF THE POTOMAC. 225 

(the simile best applicable) upon the enemy's left, the victory 
that was to come had passed the region of strategy, and re- 
solved to an affair of personal courage. We had met the 
enemy : were they to be ours ? 

" To expedite this consummation, every officer fought as if 
he were the forlorn hope. Mounted on his black pony, the 
same which he rode at Winchester, Sheridan galloped every- 
where, his face flushed all the redder, and his plethoric but 
nervous figure all the more ubiquitous. He galloped once 
down to the rebel front with but a handful of his staff. A 
dozen bullets whistled for him together : one grazed his 
arm, at which a faithful orderly rode. The black pony leaped 
high in fright, and Sheridan was untouched ; but the orderly 
lay dead in the field, and the saddle dashed afar empty. 

" At seven o'clock, the rebels came to the conclusion that 
they were outflanked and whipped. They had been so busi- 
ly engaged, that they were a long time finding out how des- 
perate were their circumstances ; but now, wearied with 
persistent assaults in front, they fell back to the left, only to 
see four close lines of battle w^aiting to drive them across 
the field decimated. At the right, the horsemen charged 
them in their vain attempt to fight ' out ; ' and, in the rear, 
straggling foot and cavalry began also to assemble. Slant 
fire, cross fire, and direct fire, by file and volley, rolled in 
perpetually, cutting down their bravest officers, and strewing 
the fields with bleeding men. Groans resounded in the in- 
tervals of exploding powder ; and, to add to their terror and 
despair, their own artillery, captured from them, threw into 
their own ranks, from its old position, ungrateful grape and 

15 



226 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

canister, enfilading their breastworks, whizzing and plun- 
ging by air line and ricochet ; and, at last, bodies of cavalry 
fairly mounted their intrenchments, and charged down the 
parapet, slashing and trampling them, and producing inex- 
tricable confusion. They had no commanders, at Icjist no 
orders ; and looked in vain for some guiding hand to lead 
them out of a toil into which they had fallen so bravely and 
so blindly. A few more volleys, a new and irresistible 
charge, a shrill and warning command to die or surrender, 
and, with a sullen and fearful impulse, five thousand muskets 
are flung upon the ground, and five thousand hot, exhausted, 
and impotent men are Sheridan's prisoners of war. 

'' Acting with his usual decision, Sheridan placed his cap- 
tives in the care of a provost-guard, and sent them at once 
to the rear. Those who escaped he ordered the fiery Custar 
to pursue with brand and vengeance : and they were pressed 
far into the desolate forest, spent and hungry ; many falling, 
by the way, of wounds or exhaustion ; many pressed down 
by hoof or sabre-stroke ; and many picked up in mercy, and 
sent back to rejoin their brethren in bonds. We captured 
in all fully six thousand prisoners." 

The allusion to Sheridan's black horse is explained by the 
following lyric, written by T. B. Read : — 

SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 

Up from the South at break of day, 
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
The affrighted air with a shudder bore, 
Like a herald In haste to the chieftain's door, 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 227 

The terrible grumble and rumble and roar, 
Telling the battle was on once more, 
And Sheridan twenty miles away. 

And wider still those billows of war 

Thundered along the horizon's bar, 

And louder yet into Winchester rolled 

The roar of that red sea uncontrolled, 

Making the blood of the listener cold 

As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, 

And Sheridan twenty miles away. 

But there is a road from Winchester Town, — 

A good broad highway leading down ; 

And there, through the flush of the morning light, 

A steed, as black as the steed of night. 

Was seen to pass as with eagle flight. 

As if he knew the terrible need, 

He stretched away with his utmost speed : 

Hill rose and fell ; but his heart was gay, 

With Slieridan fifteen miles away. 

Still sprung from those swift hoofs, thundering South, 
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth. 
Or the trail of a comet, sweeping faster and faster, 
Foreboding to traitors the doom of disaster. 
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master 
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls. 
Impatient to be where the battle-field calls : 
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full play, 
With Sheridan only ten miles away. 



228 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD FBISOX. 

Under his spnrnmg feet the road 

Like an arrowy alpine river flowed ; 

And the landscape sped away behind 

Like an ocean flving before the wind ; 

And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire, 

Swept on, with his wild eyes full of fire. 

But, lo I he is nearing his heart's desire ; 

He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray, 

With Sheridan only five miles away. 

The first that the general saw were the groups 

Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops. 

"What was done ? what to do ? A glance told him both : 

Then, striking his spurs, with a terrible oath 

He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzas ; 

And the wave of retreat checked its course there, because 

The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 

With foam and with dust the black charger was gray : 

By the flash of his eye, and his red nostrils' play, 

He seemed to the whole great army to say, 

'• I have brought you Sheridan all the way 

From Winchester down to save the day ! " 

Hurrah, hurrah, for Sheridan ! 
Hurrah, hurrah, for horse and man ! 
And when their statues are placed on high. 
Under the dome of the Union sky, — 
The American soldier's Temple of Fame, — 
There, with the glorious general's name, 
Be it said in letters both bold and bright, 
" Here is the steed that saved the day 
By carrying Sheridan into the fight, 
From Winchester, twenty miles away ! " 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 229 

The spring of 1865 brought the great battles which 
resulted in the fall of Richmond, the surrender of Gen. 
Lee, the final overthrow of the Rebellion, and the resto- 
ration of peace. A writer in the "Boston Journal" says 
(March 29) of the fight at Fort Steadman, — 

"The rebels first made a dash on the Fifty-seventh ; and, 
afler the first fire, the brave soldiers of that regiment had no 
chance to load : but every man was a hero, and used his 
musket like a club, knocking them right and left. But it 
was of no use : they were overpowered by the enemy, and a 
number of brave men fell. Lieut. Murdoch fell with the 
color in his hand ; Capt. Dougherty received his death- 
wound ; and Capt. "Ward is missing. 

" Poor Dougherty ! He was in his glory when fighting. 
He w^as taken to the hospital, and like a soldier he died. 
About twenty minutes before he expired, he sent his regards 
to Gen. Wilcox, and said, ' Tell him I hate to leave his cotti- 
mand.' 

" The Twenty-ninth fought with equal bravery. Many 
were captured, and many that were captured escaped. 

" The enemy was upon the Fifty-ninth in full force ; but 
they showed the mettle of Massachusetts troops. They 
fought until they were almost surrounded, and only escaped 
by rushing over our works toward the enemy's, and round 
into Fort Haskell. 

"I would mention Gen. TTilcox, who commands the 
division to which these re"riment3 belon"^. His men think 
the world of him. "WTien he found that the rebels had the 
fort, he sent one of his stafif to order out part of the third 



230 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

division, Avliicli was in reserve near his headquarters, and 
sent another to the troops on the right and left of Steadman, 
ordering them to hold their gi'ound at all hazards ; and, 
when asked by one of his staff what he was going to do, 
replied. 'Charge., Steadman T He did so, assisted by Hart- 
ranft ; and the fort was retaken. 

"The colors of the One Hundreth Pennsylvania, of Wil- 
cox's division, were the first planted on the fort ; and his 
division ' captured seven rebel flags, together with one of 
our own, and fully one thousand prisoners,' as announced 
in general order." 

" Carleton," in describing the final battles, thus writes : — 

" It was my privilege to witness the second attack upon 
the ninth corps on Wednesday night. I was the guest of 
Surgeon White, of the first division hospital, which is 
located in rear of the battery. Precisely at ten o'clock, 
there was a signal-gun on the rebel lines ; then a cheer, — 
the indescribable yell, the war-whoop, of the rebels ; then 
a rattling fire of musketry, which deepened to a volley ; 
then there came the roar of the cannonade. 

"The ninth corps was prepared. All through the after- 
noon, they had seen suspicious movements along the rebel 
lines, — squads of men marching and countermarching. De- 
serters gave information that an attack was to be made. 
Besides, it was supposed that Lee might attempt to compel 
Grant to recall the fifth and second corps ; and, having had 
one surprise, officers and men were determined not to be 
caught napping a second time. The picket -line was 
strengthened, and all the reserve batteries were brought up 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 231 

for use in case of emergency. The men were ordered to be 
on the alert ; and they were. 

"I was upon the west of the hill in three minutes after 
the signal-gun w^as fired ; and there were at that moment not 
less than two hundred guns and mortars, Union and Rebel, in 
play. The night was dark : the clouds were hanging low. The 
wind was from the south, and rain-drops were beginning to 
fall ; but the incessant flashing illumined the landscape. It 
surpassed all other firing I ever witnessed at night in beauty 
and grandeur. I counted thirty shells in the air at once, 
rising hundreds of feet high, remaining motionless a mo- 
ment, then descending as rapidly as they rose, exploding, 
and leaving handfuls of white cloud where they disappeared. 
The air was filled w^ith fiery arches crossing each other at 
all angles, — some from the north, east, south, and west, — 
passing and repassing, meeting midway, and cut across by 
lines of fire streaming from the rifled cannon, sending 
swiftly revolving bolts point blank into the rebel works. 

" The arches began with a flash, and ended with a flash. 
Beneath these arches of fire, there w-ere thousands of muskets 
flashing over the intrenchments. I watched it for two hours, 
till the rain drove me to dryer quarters. City Point was 
greatly alarmed. There Avas riding to and fro of orderlies. 
Timid civilians packed up their baggage, and made inquiries 
about how to get away if the rebels made their appearance. 
The ""unboats in the stream swun^: their broadsides to bear 
upon the plain west of the Point. It certainly w^as one of 
the heaviest cannonades from field artillery I ever beheld, 
surpassed only by that of Gettysburg, Antietam. and Freder- 



232 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PRISOX. 

icksburg. An officer of Gen. Grant's staff savs that it 
surpassed any thing he heard at Vicksburg ; and yet, strange 
to say, there were but four or five killed and about thirty 
Tvounded on the Union side. Artillery firing is calculated 
to try the nerves of timid men ; but old soldiers care but 
little about it. Sometimes it stirs their blood. TMiile the 
cannonade was at its height, I heard a soldier who was 
wounded in the hand say, ' I wish I was down there with 
the boys ! ' There are many thousands in the ranks just 
like him ; and they intend to win." 

Petersburg and Richmond were at last in the hands of 
Union soldiers. The rebels evacuated them ; at least, the 
rebel army departed from them ; and the arch-rebel fled in 
haste and fear from his capitol. ^e must again receive 
"Carleton's" testimony concerning the occupation of those 
two long -besieged cities by the Federal troops. Xo better 
descriptions of war-scenes have ever been afforded than those 
from his graphic pen, and no volume relating to the Rebel- 
lion would be complete without them. Mr. Coffin wrote as 
follows : — 

Spottiswood House, Richmoxd, Va., 
April 3, 1865. 

To the Editor of the '^Boston Journal," — 

The stars and stripes wave over Petersburg and Rich- 
mond to-night. There is no longer a Confederacy. Jeff. 
Davis, Toombs, Breckinridge, and Gen. Lee, are fugitives, 
without a country or a home. The rebel army is broken 
and demoralized. The whole Rebellion in a night has dis- 
appeared. I am in a whirl of great events which will be 



BATTLE-SCENES.— AE^IY OF THE POTOMAC. 233 

forever prominent in history. I can give merely a summary 
of what has taken place since the sun went down last niaht. 
In a letter already forwarded, I have given an outline of the 
great movement of Gen. Grant, which, under the blessing 
of God, has given us not only a victory, but has blown 
up the whole Rebellion, routing the rebel army, and sending 
Jeff. Davis and the whole rebel government out of Rich- 
mond at a moment's notice. 

On Saturday night, the "Five Forks" were carried by 
Sheridan and the fifth corps. It was an unexpected blow 
to Lee. He ordered down in hot haste nearly all the rebel 
troops north of the James ; but they were too late to regain 
what had been lost. Before they arrived in Petersburg, 
the ninth corps, at four o'clock, had four forts. Then the 
second corps took the fort south of Hatcher's Run, on 
the Boydtown Road. Then the twenty-fourth corps made 
splendid assault, and swept over the embankments of two 
other fortifications ; and the sixth corps, with irresistible 
impetuosity, broke through the rebel lines, and gained the 
rear of Petersburg. Through the day, I watched the rolling- 
on of the tide, the frantic efforts of the rebels to resist it, 
the commotion in Petersburg, the black columns of smoke 
ascending from burning buildings, and knew that Richmond 
must be ours to-day ; for Petersburg is the key to the rebel 
capital, and the " Five Forks," in this instance, proved to be 
the key of Petersburg. 

At three o'clock this morning, there was an explosion 
which shook Richmond to its foundations, and which made 
even the beds at City Point heave as if an earthquake had 



•234 FIZLD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL. AXD PRISOX. 

shaken the globe. It was the blowing-up of the iron-dads. 
Those who saw it describe it as a sight surpassingly grand. 
It roused the arciy from slumber-: the hosts surrounding 
Petersburg needed no other reveiUe. The soldiers were on 
their feet in an instant : and G^n. TTilcox. commanding the 
first division of the ninth corps, accepted it as a signal to 
adrance. He was lying east of the city, his right resting on 
the Appomattox. His men sprang forward, but found only 
deserted works. The last body of rebels — the lingerers, 
who were remaining to plunder the people of Petersburg — 
took to their heels ; and the division entered the city without 
opposition. 

The entire army were instantly put in motion. Engineers 
hurried up with pontoons, laid them across the Appomattox ; 
and the army began its pursuit of Lee. I entered the to^Ti 
soon after sunrise. It was a scene of indescribable coni- 
motion : troops hurrying in from all quarters, cheering, 
swinging their caps, helping themselves to tobacco, rushing 
on upon the double-quick, eager to overtake Lee. 

The colored population thronged the streets, - swinging 
their dilapidated hats, bowing low, and shouting '■ Glory ! " 
•* Bless de Lord ! " "• Tse been a-praying for dis yare to hap- 
pen : but I didn't spect it quite so soon." •• It is jes like a 
clap of thtmder," said an old negro. 

'• Tse glad to see you. I'm been trying and wishing and 
praying dat de Lord would help me get to de Yankees ; and 
now dey has come into dis yere city," said another. The 
citizens of the place also were in the streets, amazed, con- 
founded, and bewildered at what had happened. Gen. Macy, 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 235 

of Massacliusetts, had a provost-guard established to pre- 
vent depredations, and to .^ave the army from demoralization. 
The rebels set all the tobacco- vs'arehouses on fire, and de- 
stroyed their commissary-stores. I took a limTied survey 
of the rebel works in front of Fort Steadman, and found 
them very strong. Our mortar-firing had been very de- 
structive, sometimes blowing up their bomb-proofs. The 
ground is completely honeycombed by the shells which have 
been thrown from our mortars. The town is not very badly 
shattered. A great many houses were struck yesterday, and 
many of the people fled to the excavations which had been 
made in the hillsides. 

Gen. Grant was early in the town with his staff, with 
the same cool, calm demeanor which he always wears. He 
was evidently well pleased with the aspect of affairs. 

My stay in Petersburg was brief. Knowing that Rich- 
mond must be ours, although the intelligence that it had 
been evacuated had not reached Petersburg, I made haste 
to the cars in season to see President Lincoln. 

He went up in a special car. The soldiers at Meade 
Station caught a sight of him, and cheered most heartily. He 
came upon the platform, and bowed. On Friday, he looked 
careworn. The failure of Grant's plans on Thursday troubled 
him ; but the great victory had smoothed the deep wrinkles. 
He is much worn by constant work, care, and anxiety ; but 
now he can take time to grow young again, for the nation's 
new lease of life is arrived. He acknowledged the enthu- 
siasm and devotion of the soldiers by bowing, and by 
thanking them for the great victory they had won. 



236 FIELD, GUN^BOAT,- HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Reaching City Point at noon, I was soon in the saddle, 
galloping "on to Richmond," crossing the Appomattox at 
Broadway, riding to Varina on the James, crossing on the 
pontoons, and approaching the city by the New-Market Road, 
overtaking the tv»'enty-fiftli corps on the outskirts of the city, 
reaching the rebel capital at five o'clock in the afternoon. 

At four o'clock in the morning, Major A. H. Stevens of 
the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, and provost-marshal of 
the twenty-fifth army corps, with detachments from Compa- 
nies E and H, with Capts. Pray and Percy, started upon 
a reconnoissance of the enemy's lines. They found them 
evacuated, and the guns spiked. Major Stevens found 
a rebel deserter, who piloted the detachment safely over 
the torpedoes which had been planted in front of the 
enemy's works. A mile and a half out from the city, 
Major Stevens met a barouche, and five men, mounted, bear- 
ing a white flag. The party consisted of the mayor. Judge 
Meredith of the Confederate-States Court, and other gen- 
tlemen, who tendered the surrender of the city. Major 
Stearns entered the place amid the wildest demonstrations of 
joy on the part of the colored people and the poor whites. 
They danced and shouted and prayed, and blessed the Lord, 
and thanked him that the Yankees had come. Major 
Stevens informed me that some of the colored people threw 
themselves upon the ground, and prayed and laughed and 
shouted and cried for joy. He saw several Union flags 
thrown out from houses. He proceeded at once to the 
Capitol, ascended the roof, pulled down the State flag which 
was flying, and raised the guidons of the two companies 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 237 

upon the building. So Massachusetts was first in Richmond 
and in possession of the rebel Capitol. Gen. Weitzel and 
staff entered the city at eight o'clock, with the whole of 
his command following, bands playing, flags waving in 
the bright morning sun, the soldiers cheering, and singing 
the John Brown song. A delegation of the Christian Com- 
mission accompanied them, and had the blue flag of the 
Commission waving from a house before noon, ready to 
minister to the wants of the soldiers. 

Going back now in the order of time to Sunday fore- 
noon, I will endeavor to give a picture of what transpired in 
this city, as I have the information from the citizens. 

On Saturday night, a despatch was received from Gen. 
Lee for Gen. Ewell to send all his available troops to 
Petersburg, as his lines were threatened. All Saturday 
night they were passing through the city, taking the Peters- 
burg Railroad. The city patrols and government battalion 
w^ere at the same time ordered to the trenches. 

There was a jubilant feeling ; for it was stated that 
Johnston had given Sherman the slip ; that he was at 
Bellville, above Weldon, witli thirty thousand men ; and 
Hardee was on the Danville Road with twelve thousand, 
making a force of forty-two thousand, which would fall 
upon Grant's left at Hatcher's Run, and smash him to 
pieces. It was going to be Manassas over again. It was 
an execution of a plan Avhich I discovered as a possible 
movement of Johnston in a letter written last week. It 
was the best thing that Johnston could do ; but he was too 
late. The divine Providence which let Johnston reach 



2o8 FIELD, GUyBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PlilSOy. 

Manassas on Sunday, July 21, 1861, did not let him reach 
Hatcher's Run on Sunday, April 2, 1865. 

Perhaps Jeff. Davis has had some misgivings as to the 
ability of Lee to hold Grant in check. There is no doubt 
he disposed of his plate two Aveeks ago. Mrs. Davis and 
the children left Richmond on Thursday last ; but Jeff, 
remained. He was at church on Sunday morning. The 
minister was preaching, when an orderly entered, and handed 
a note to the President of the Confederacy. It was a de- 
spatch from Lee that his lines were brokeu in three places, 
and that Richmond must be evacuated. It was as if a hand 
had written once more, "Mene, mene, tekel. . . . Thou art 
weighed and found wanting : thy kingdom is defeated." 

He turned pale ; but, taking his hat, he hurriedly left the 
church. The hour of twelve came. The people, as they 
passed the Capitol on their way home from church, saw 
men hurriedly bringing out the State papers, piling them 
upon the ground, and setting them on tire. It was the first 
intimation they had that the city was to be evacuated. 

There was commotion everywhere, among the officials, 
among the soldiers, among the citizens, and among the 
women : trunks were packed in hot haste ; carpet-bags were 
stuffed in a moment. There Avas a stampede for the 
Danville Depot. Jeff. Davis went in the first train, 
leaving his housekeeper in charge of his house, important 
papers in his private room upon the table. Such hurry and 
confusion never were seen in Richmond before. Carriages 
were driven furiously to the depot. Citizens fled toward 
Lynchburg on horseback, in wagons, iu coaches, and on foot. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 239 

So passed the afternoon and the night. People who could 
not get away did not dare to go to bed ; for the order was 
issued to withdraw all the troops at daybreak, spike the 
guns, and blow up the gunboats. They were afraid that 
the city would be fired by Gen. Ewell, who swore that the 
Yankees should find only a heap of smouldering ruins. 
They were afraid also that the rearguard would give them- 
selves up to pillage. It was a horrible night, — a night 
which tires nerves, which makes young men grow old. I 
speak now not only of those who are hostile in feeling, but 
of those who longed to see the stars and stripes once more 
in Richmond. They feared the transition period, — the 
hour of no government. 

At four o'clock, the iron-clads one after another were 
blown up, shaking the city, rattling the glass from the 
windows, jarring down chimneys, and almost taking away 
the breath of men in the streets. At the same moment, the 
torch was applied to several unfinished rams and boats on 
the shore, also to several tobacco-warehouses. 

Gen. Breckinridge, the Secretary of War, protested to 
Gen. Ewell that it would be an act of inhumanity to fire the 
city ; but Ewell, w^ho is a brutal man, who is brutal to his 
soldiers, coarse and rude in all his acts, swore that the to- 
bacco should be destroyed, and the arsenal. He sent a man 
to fire the Tredegar Iron-works : but the man in charge said, 
"These are private works, sir ; and, if you undertake to fire 
them, I'll shoot you." The officer charged with the execution 
of the burning withdrew ; but the tobacco-houses, and the 
arsenal, and a large flouring-mill on the bank of the river, 



240 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. ' 

were fired at five o'clock. It was at that hour that Ewell 
with his rabble, and Breckinridge, mounted their horses, and 
rode out of the city towards the west, turning their backs 
upon what had been the rebel capital. Like assassins, 
burglars, and villains of the deepest dye, after the robberies 
and murders, they applied the torch to the place where they 
had revelled in crime, and disappeared from the place, 
carrying with them the execrations of all, — of foes, and of 
those, who, till this morning, were their friends. History will 
hold Breckinridge responsible for the act of burning the 
city. He was E well's superior ; was in the city till the last 
moment : he could have prevented the act, but did not. 
How fallen ! In 1856 he was Vice-President of the United 
States, and no man had a fairer prospect than he of honor. 
Four years ago he turned his back upon his country, fled 
from the city of Louisville on a dark and stormy night, and 
became a traitor, a rebel. This morning he became an 
incendiary, and to-night he is fleeing on horseback to escape 
falling into the hands of Sheridan's troopers. His game is 
played. He thrcAv honor, reputation, family, name, every 
thing, into the Rebellion, and against his country, and has 
lost all. But to resume the narrative : — 

When Major Stevens entered the city, the flames were 
leaping from house to house, and devouring block after 
block in the centre of the town. Capt. Percy went to see 
about the arsenal, but found it on fire. It contained several 
thousand shells, which began to explode, scattering fire- 
brands in every direction, filling the air with iron frag- 
ments, driving the people from that section of the city. 



BATTLE-SCENES.— ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 241 

The poor people helped themselves to the commissary 
supplies, broke open stores, and made free with whatever 
they saw. Some of the citizens rushed to the liquor-stores, 
and, with commendable forethought, dashed in the heads of 
several hundred barrels of whiskey. 

The prisoners in the Libby Prison were removed on 
Saturday evening, being sent off by the Danville Road. 
The flames spread from the tobacco-warehouses to the 
Libby, and that prison-house is now nothing but ruins. 
The flames spread towards the Penitentiary, and the con- 
victs were set at liberty. The building was burned, and 
the city has now this class of depraved men at large. 

On, on, from building to building, from warehouse to 
warehouse, from store to hotel, from hotel to bank, to the 
newspaper-offices, to the churches, all along Main Street, 
from near the Spottiswood House to the eastern end of the 
town, back to the river, to the bridges across the James, up 
to the large stone fire-proof building erected by the United 
States for a post-office, now full of Confederate promises to 
pay, all around this building, on both sides of it, up to the 
Capitol Square, the flames leaped, licking up all the business 
part of the city. Strange to say, the Spottiswood Hotel is 
saved. I look out from my window upon a mass of ruin, 
of tall chimneys, of tottering walls ; upon streets impassable 
from piles of brick and stones and rubbish ; upon smoking 
ruins. Richmond is a sea of fire to-night. It is the most 
complete scene of devastation I ever beheld, excepting 
Charleston : there the streets echoed only to my own foot- 
steps, and to the cry of buzzards ; but here I look down 

16 



242 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD P BISON. 

from my window to-night upon a woe-begone crowd of 
human beings, gazing at the ruins, moving here and there, 
gathering up broken furniture. ELaborate cornices, marble 
mantles, broken looking-glasses, piles of bedding, chairs, 
tables, barrels, and boxes, are piled in Capitol Square. 
The ground is thick with feathers, with broken crockery, 
with scattered books and papers, debris of all kinds. Millions 
of dollars will not cover the loss. All the banks, all the 
newspaper-offices, except the "Whig" and the " Examiner," 
the bridges across the Appomattox, Dr. Reed's Presbyteritiu 
church, hundreds of houses and acres of ground, — the heart 
of the city is eaten out. 

Four years ago, on the second Sunday in April, there 
was great rejoicing in Richmond when the flame of war 
was lighted around Sumter ; but what a contrast is the 
scene to-day ! Men who swung their hats and hurrahed on 
that occasion, who celebrated it by drunken orgies, who 
looked forward to dominion and empire, walk these streets 
to-night penniless, poverty-stricken, biT)ken-h carted, behold- 
ing a future illumined by no ray of hope. The flame of 
war has consumed them at last. Loud and long and terri- 
ble are their execrations of Jeff. Davis and Ewell ; but they 
forget the part they have taken, that they urged on secession, 
hurrahed for it, shouted for it, prayed for it, gave thanks 
for the victory of Manassas. They forget that God's throne 
is built on justice, — justice on earth as well as in heaven. 

When Major Stevens entered the city, the people were 
beholding the fire, and making little effort to stay its 
progress. He issued an oji'der calling upon the police and 



BATTLE-SCENES. — ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. 243 

fire department to set about extinguishing the flames. 
Citizens were pressed into the service ; and thus the flames 
are stopped at last. 

My note-book is full of other events ; but the mail-mes- 
senger is waiting, and I come to an abrupt close for to-day. 

Carleton.* 

Many and important incidents of the war are necessarily 
left out. Sherman's grand march, so ably and fully de- 
scribed by Major Nichols,! deserves to be remembered 
through all time ; and the valor of his men at Atlanta will 
w^ill never be forgotten. But of all this, and of Lee's sur- 
render to Gen. Grant, and many another episode connected 
with the closing of the w^ar and the dawn of peace, which, 
like the sun-rays on the ancient statue, evoked the music of 
the joy-bells throughout the land, these pages may not speak. 

We have reason to thank God for the glorious achieve- 
ments of the Potomac Army, and impartial history will 
assign to it a high and noble place. 

* Tlie author of this volume feels under great obngation to C. C. Coffin, 
Esq., for kind pennission to use freely in its preparation whatever he may 
have Avritten. The whole country is under obligation to him for the finely 
written and reliable letters which have made the name of " Carleton " a 
household word; and his books, " My Days and Nights on the Battle-field," 
" Following the Flag," &c., are acceptable everywhere. 

t Story of the Great March, by Major Nichols : Harper & Bros. 



244 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PRISON. 



CHAPTER Y. 

BATTLE-SCENES. WEST A>T) SOUTH-^VZST. 

By the flag of my country, through weaJ or through woe, 

On the tempeiit- tossed ocean while battling the foe, 

In the morning of hope when with victory 'tis crowned, 

Through the night of despair when with mourning 'tis bound, 

Through Jlaine'e dreary winter, on Texas' hot sand, 

Hy the flag of my country undaunted I-ll stand." * 



m 



(^'''^j^rnLE the patriot soldiers of the Potomac Army 
were bravely defending the flag, the soldiers of 
the Western armies were no less valiant. Fort 
Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and other 
now historic names, telling of bloodshed and of glory, bring 
up the memory of patriotism and of valor such as* might 
make any people proud. The attempt will be made in this 
chapter to present a iav^' pictures of battle and other scenes 
in connection with Western and South-western campaigns. 

One of the important battles fought by our Western army 
was that of Fort Donelson, in February, 1862. A writer 

* The first stanza of a song by J. M. F., dedicated to that gallant stan- 
dard-bearer of the Second Massaclmsetts, who, when five ensigns had been 
ehot down, seized the tattered flag, and bore it on to victory. 



BA TTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AXD SO UTH- WEST. 245 

in the " Chicago Post" gives the following description of 
the final struggle and the victory : — 

" Field of Battle, Foet Do>-elson, 

" Sunday Night, Feb. 16. 

" The day is ours. All honor and glory to onr brave vol- 
unteers of the West I They have wiped out the disgrace of 
Bull Run. They have taken a position stronger than Ma- 
nassas, and gained a position more important in its results 
and its moral effect than any that has yet been won. But 
they have bled terribly to gain it ; and the blackening 
corpses that strew the heights around this fortification fur- 
nish terrible evidence of the unflinching courage and awful 
determination with which they fought. 

" How shall I describe that fight, — that series of terrible 
engagements constituting one grand battle, beginning on 
Thursday morning, and terminating in glorious triumph 
on the Sabbath morn ? No one person could behold it all, 
nor in any possible way qualify himself to testify as an 
original witness to the many events that were transpiring at 
one and the same time on different parts of the extensive 
and mountainous field. Those who have seen both, say 
that the ground, in its unevenness and wooded character, 
much resembles that of Manassas, but that the inequalities 
are greater, the hills higher, the ravines deeper, and 
roads (where there were any) muddier. It was a region 
extending for some five or six miles around the extensive 
fortifications. 

" In order to gain a correct idea of the battle, it will be 
necessary to have a correct idea of the character and extent 



246 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

of the rebel fortifications. The fort (so called, though prop- 
erly an intrenched camp) crowns the summit of a hill one 
hundred feet high, on the left bank of the stream, just where 
its general course turns toward the north. It encloses an 
area of about a hundred and sixty acres. The hill slopes 
gradually down to the river ; and on its face, some thirty or 
forty feet above the water, is a range of water-batteries, 
mounting twelve guns, — eight thirty-two pounders, one ten- 
inch shell-gun (manufactured at the Tredegar Works, Rich- 
mond), one immense rifled gun (from the same works), and 
two sixty-four-pound howitzers. 

" These constitute the defences of the place against as- 
sault by water. On all other sides of the fort, the ground 
sinks immediately into a deep ravine, where, and on the op- 
posite side-hills, the ground is covered with felled trees. 
Across this ravine, intrenchments and ranges of rifle-pits 
are thrown up on the surrounding hills, in such a way, that 
each hill is made an independent redan, yet supported by and 
supporting each of its fellows. I am told that the engineer, 
Capt. Dixon, who constructed the works, selected as his 
plan that of the famous Russian engineer, Totleben, for the 
works in the Crimea. It is said by skilful engineers in our 
army, that, if the rebels had had a force sufficient to man all 
parts of the fortificatjons, an army of three hundred thou- 
sand could not have dislodged them. 

" But their strength was their weakness. Instead of hav- 
ing an army of fifty thousand, the least number tliat would 
be required, they had less than twenty-four thousand. Many 
of their officers say they had only twelve thousand ; but the 



BA TTLE-SCEKES. — WEST A ND SO UTH- WEST. 247 

figures show fully fifteen thousand. This force was insuffi- 
cient to defend all parts of the extensive works against a 
force of more than double their number. 

" But the Southerners fought bravely and desperately, if 
not at all times quite honestly. When, on the first day of 
the battle, our infantry on the right attempted to storm their 
position on one of their fortified hills, they repulsed them, 
because they were able to. shoot in safety from rifle-pits ; 
while our soldiers were in the open field, or sheltered only 
by thin woods. 

" But, when they came out of their pits after us, we 
stood on equal terms ; and our boys, after some hard 
fighting, drove them back. If our soldiers did not stand 
their bullets where tliey had no chance to play back, theirs 
did not stand our bullets in a fair stand-up fight. And the 
next day showed that the rascals w^ere not w^illing to take 
their chances of being shot, even in their rifle-pits ; for they 
had placed a parapet of logs on their breastworks, with a 
crack wide enough to shoot through, thus protecting their 
heads from the never-failing aim of Birge's sharpshooters. 
These fellows, wath their heavy Western rifles, would clip 
the whiskers of a squirrel at eight hundred yards. 

" The results of the fighting on Thursday w^ere, that our 
troops were repulsed on the right flank, and the enemy gained 
possession of the ground which Gen. McClernand had occu- 
pied for three days. The gunboat 'Carondelet' had wasted 
about a hundred shot and shell at long range, without doiug 
them any damage. The enemy were highly elated and con- 
fident. 



248 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" On Friday, ten thousand fresh troops arrived, and en- 
tered the field ; but fighting between the infantry was not 
resumed till towards evening. The gunboats opened their 
batteries at three, p.m., and poured a terrific storm of shot 
and shell until half-past four, when two of them were tem- 
porarily disabled, and the cannonading ceased. The rebels 
fired three shots afterward, and then set up a yell of exulta- 
tion which shook the liills around. 

" About three o'clock, p.m., the turning-point of the strug- 
gle arrived. Gen. Smith, who commanded our left wing, 
ordered a charge upon the enemy's breastworks in front of 
hrm. The Second Iowa and Seventh Illinois and another 
regiment dashed up the declivity in face of the enemy's 
musketry, drove the rascals aut of their pits, and dashed 
over the breastworks. Other regiments followed ; and 
speedily the hill was in our possession. The enemy was 
completely outflanked. The position commanded his line in 
such a manner as to render it impossible for him to hold the 
neighboring heights. He must abandon his rifle-pits, and 
fight honestly in the open field, or retreat into his fort. 

" Nobody expected, however, that he was going to give 
up quite so soon. Our soldiers went to their cold rest, con- 
fident in their ability to whip the rebels the next day ; but 
they expected to fight for it. Not a man in the army but 
expected with the coming daylight to snatch his musket, and 
re-enter the combat. There had been during the bloody 
day one circumstance, which, to many of the thinking ones, 
cast a shade of gloom upon their spirits. The gunboats 



BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 249 

had not renewed the hombardment. Why was it? Were 
they disabled? or vrere the rebel batteries too much for 
them? In either case, land forces must fight and con- 
quer alone. They laid down to sleep feeling that they could 
do it. 

" At daylight Sunday morning, Commodore Foote opened 
a gun upon the fort. Three or four shots were fired ; but no 
response was heard. Then it was reported a white flag was 
flying, and then that the enemy had got away during the 
night. A tug started with a flag of truce, and ran up to the 
fort ; and the news came back, that the rebels had surren- 
dered. Such was the fact. The rebel commanders, Pillow, 
Floyd, Buckner, and Bushrod Johnson, had held a council of 
war during the night, at which it had been decided to sur- 
render ; and no sooner had this decision been arrived at, 
than Floyd, true to his instincts, took his brigade, and ran 
away. 

" Pillow also ' skedaddled,' as did a portion of Forest's 
Kentucky cavalry brigade. Such was Pillow's haste to de- 
part, that (a rebel officer tells me) he knocked two men off 
the boat with his sword who were trying to go with him. 
Buckner and Bushrod Johnson remained, and are among 
our prisoners. 

" The spectacle presented as our troops entered the place 
was one to which no description can do justice. As our 
fleet of transports, preceded by the gunboats, moved slowly 
up toward the fort, the rebel soldiers collected in groups 
and squads, and gazed upon them in apparent wonder." 

A writer in the "New -York Tribune" thus depicts 



250 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

the horrors of war as displayed at the Fort-Donelson 
battle : — 

" The distance between the two armies during the three 
days, in many cases, was so slight, that we could not bring off 
our dead ; and the wounded who could neither walk nor 
crawl remained where they fell until Sunday morning, some 
even till late that day. A prisoner told me that some Ger- 
mans lay wounded before their earthworks on Friday night, 
calling for help and water, and that they went out to bring 
them in ; but, it being moonlight, our men fired on them, and 
they were obliged to go back. It was early Sunday morn- 
ing when they ventured out again, and brought them in. 
They were still alive, but blue with cold, and covered with 
frost and snow. They did what they could for them ; but it 
Avas not much, and for this reason : For a week, they had 
been guarding their earthworks, three miles in length ; and, 
from Thursday, they had been out in force night and day. 
Many of them in the rifle-pits froze their feet and hands. 
On the boats, I saw young officers whose slaves pulled off 
their stockings ; and, as they did so, the skin from various parts 
of their feet came along with them. In passing from their 
works to their quarters, they frequently had to wade sluices 
waist-deep, and then lie down to sleep in their wet clothes. 
The least result was violent cold. In addition, our gunboats 
kept them in constant alarm, and their artillerists were worn 
out with constant watching, 

" The Eleventh Illinois, suddenly coming upon the enemy, 
was forced to retreat beneath an awful shower of balls. 
The major then called for volunteers to bring off the wounded. 



BATTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 251 

Twenty or thirty started, crawling ; and tliey brought off a 
few, but some of them were wounded in the attempt. Again 
volunteers were called for ; and they approached amid an 
awful fire, when one of our wounded beckoned them away. 
The attempt was madness. Just then, the leaves took 
fire ; and, covered, by the smoke, our men rushed in and 
saved a few more : but their clothes had taken fire, and 
some perished miserably. Those who were left, of course, 
perished. 

" The severity of the cold is well illustrated by the state- 
ment made by our field-officers, who rode from post to post 
during the night, that, in the morning, their clothes were so 
stiff, that, could they have been taken off, they would have 
stood alone. It is doubtful wdiether suffering was greater, 
though it Avas longer, in the retreat of the French from 
Moscow. 

" Most of the horses of many of our batteries were shot 
down. They had been well trained, and stood fire well. The 
horse is the most intelligent of all animals. lie has a think- 
ing eye : it sparkles with inquiry as you approach him. He 
loves music ; and, in the horrors of battle, he is not afraid. 
Herodotus calls the horse a stranger ; perhaps because he 
was so little understood. 

" Saturday morning, when the enemy came out in heavy 
columns, and three times were driven back with tremendous 
slaughter, some batteries were ordered to positions which 
the enemy had a little while before occupied. The horses 
hesitated not to tread on the wounded, dying, and dead ; and 
the ponderous artillery-wheels crushed limbs and skulls, 



252 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PEISOX. 

It was an awful sight to behold weak, wounded men lifting 
their feeble hands beneath the horses' hoofs. Sighs, at least, 
are due to the noble horses which fell. Going over this part 
of the field on Sunday, where the dead lay thickly, and 
where the track of the artillery could be traced, some words 
of the old poet came to mind : — 

' So the fierce coursers, as the chariot rolls, 
Tread down whole ranks, and crush our heroes' souls ; 
Dashed from their hoofs, while o'er the dead they fly, 
Black, bloody drops the smoking chariot dye ; 
The spiky wheels through heaps of carnage tore. 
And thick the groaning axles dropped with gore/ 

'' The town of Dover, containing perhaps one hundred 
houses, must be considered a part of the battle-field, as it 
was within the rebel lines. Every room contained sick, 
wounded, or dead men. The inhabitants had fled. Some 
of our soldiers were sacking it, contrary to express orders. 
I saw plates, knives and forks, and articles of fine fe- 
male wearing apparel, on the floor ; bloody rags were every- 
where, and often pieces of raw human flesh cut away by the 
surgeons ; and you could not open a door without hearing 
groans. No matter how grand or how low, how retired or 
how public, the house might be, it was all the same. Thun- 
der and lightning, cholera or other pestilence, or the most 
awful earthquake, could not have caused such a scene of 
horror." 

These are horrible pictures ; but, alas ! they are true. 
Yet while our gallant defenders were full of pluck, and true 
to their country, on the battle-field, they were not inhuman ; 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 253 

nor were there instances wanting of humane action on the 
part of both Federals and Rebels. Both were, doubtless, 
sometimes humane and hospitable, except in the stern hour 
of conflict. B. F. Taylor, in the " Chicago Journal,'* 
says, — 

" Now and then a little human smile brightens war's 
grim visage, like a flash of sunshine in an angry day. I 
remember one that I wish I could daguerrotype. The 
amenities of battle are so few, how precious they become ! 
Let me give you that little ' touch of nature that makes the 
whole world kin.' A few months ago, the Third Ohio, be- 
longing to Streight's command, entered a town en route for 
Richmond, prisoners of war. TTorn doTATi, famished, hearts 
heav}', and knapsacks light, they were herded, like dumb, 
driven cattle, to wear out the night. A rebel regiment, the 
Fifty-fourth Virginia, being camped near by, many of its 
men came strolling about to see the sorry show of poor 
supperless Yankees. They did not stare long, but hastened 
away to camp, and came streaming back with colFee-kettles, 
corn-bread, and bacon, the best they had, and all they had ; 
and straightway little fires began to twinkle, bacon was suf- 
fering the martyrdom of the saint of the gridiron, and the 
aroma of coffee -rose like the fragi*ant cloud of a thauk- 
oflTering. Loyal guests and rebel hosts were mingled. Our 
hungry boys ate, and were satisfied ; and for that one night 
our common humanity stood acquitted of the heavy charge 
of total depravity with which it is blackened. Xight and 
our boys departed together. The prisoners in due time 
were exchanged, and are now encamped T\dthin rifle-shot of 



254 FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Kelly's Ferry, on the bank of the Tennessee. But often, 
around the camp-fires, I have heard them talk of the Fifty- 
fourth Virginia, that proved themselves so immeasurably 
better ' than a brother afar off; ' heard them wonder where 
they were, and discuss the chance that they might ever meet. 
TThen they denounced the ' damnable Johnny Rebs,* the 
name of one regiment, you may be sure, was tucked away 
in a snug place, quite out of the range of hard words. 

" And now comes the sequel, that makes a beautiful poem 
of the whole of it. On the day of the storming of Mission 
Ridge, among the prisoners was the Fifty-fourth Virginia ; 
and on Friday it trailed away across the pontoon-bridge 
and along the mountain-road, nine miles, to Kelly's Ferry. 
Arrived there, it settled upon the bank, like wasps, await- 
iug the boat. A week elapsed, and your correspondent fol- 
lowed suit. The major of the Third Ohio welcomed me to 
the warm hospitalities of his quarters ; and almost the first 
thing he said was, ' You should have been here last Friday : 
you missed the denoument of the beautiful little drama of 
ours, Avhose first act I have told you. Will you believe ? — 
the Fifty-fourth has been here. Some of our boys were on 
duty at the landing when it arrived. " What regiment is 
this ?" they asked ; and, when the reply was given, they start- 
ed for camp like quarter horses, and shouted, as they rushed 
in and out among the smoky cones of the Sibleys, " The Fifty- 
fourth Virginia is at the ferry ! " The camp swarmed in three 
minutes. Treasures of coffee, bacon, sugar, beef, preserved 
peaches, every thing, were turned out in force ; and you may 
believe they went laden with plenty, at the double-quick, to 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 255 

the ferry.' The same old scene, and yet how strangely 
changed ! — the twinkling fires, the grateful incense, the hun- 
gry captives : but guests and hosts had changed places ; the 
starlit folds floated aloft for the bonny blue flag ; a debt of 
honor was paid to the uttermost farthing. If they had a 
triumph of arms at Chattanooga, hearts were trumps at 
Kelly's Ferry. And there it was that horrid war smiled a 
human smile ; and a grateful, gentle light flickered for a mo- 
ment on the point of the bayonet. And yet, should the Fif- 
ty-fourth Virginia return to-morrow, with arms in their 
hands, to the Tennessee, the Third Ohio would meet them 
on the bank, fight them foot to foot, and beat them back 
with rain so pitiless, the river would run red." 

The following extract from a letter by " Carleton," giving 
credit to some Western regiments which fought at Mill 
Springs, Ky., may be of interest to many readers : — 

" Exaggerated statements have been made relative to 
ZollicofFer's force. I think, from all information received, 
that he had about seven thousand men in the fight. The 
forces of Gen. Thomas engaged were the Tenth Indiana 
(which sustained the fight nearly an hour before re-enforced), 
Fourth Minnesota, Ninth Ohio, and "VYalford's Cavalry. 
Other regiments came up just as the rebels fled ; but these 
regiments achieved the victory. Each one of these regiments 
arrived upon the ground in the nick of time. They were 
not encamped in a body, but were separated each about a 
mile from the others. The Tenth Indiana was obliged to 
fall back at first to save itself from being surrounded. There 
was no running, but a deliberate retreat, and a return-fire 



256 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

for every volley from the enemy. They fell back till joined 
by the Fourth Kentucky, which closed upon their left flank 
just in season to prevent Zollicoffer's right wing from closing 
in their rear. Then the stand was made and held. The 
enemy, being baffled there, attempted to outflank Thomas's 
right wing ; and there the Second Minnesota came up just at 
the right moment. It was, throughout, a series of fortuitous 
circumstances and well-timed movements on our part. 

" There was very close fighting. A portion of the rebels 
were behind a brush fence when our line advanced, and they 
fought hand to hand across the fence. The Fourth Ken- 
tucky, at the moment of Zollicoffer's death, was about fifteen 
paces from the right of the ' Mississippi Butcher.' 

"The battle was fought by Gen. Thomas's forces, and 
not by Gen. Schoepff's, or a portion of the last-named 
troops, as has been stated by some persons who were igno- 
rant of the facts. Col. Monson, of the Indiana Tenth, was 
in command of the second brigade, which did the fighting ; 
and to him belongs the credit of the victory. Gen. Thomas 
did not arrive upon the ground till the battle had raged a 
long while ; but he did not interfere with Col. Monson's 
plans, which were made wuth admirable judgment and pre- 
cision. He is represented to have been very cool, watching 
every movement with great complacency. He was at Rich 
Mountain, in Western Virginia, and was highly praised for 
his admirable bearing. The Tenth Indiana thus far stands 
probably first on the roll of fame. They fought bravely at 
Rich Mountain ; and here, at Mill Springs, they were in at 
the beginning, the middle, and the end. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 257 

" When the rebels gave way, Col. Monson proposed that 
they be followed to their intrench me nts. Gen. Thomas 
hesitated. 'What shall we do for provisions?' he asked. 
' Oh, never mind provisions ! now is the time to pitch in,' 
said Monson. Thomas acquiesced ; and the troops passed 
on, only to find the rebels swifter-footed than they, and the 
road strewed with blankets, guns, knapsacks, caps and coats, 
with cannons and caissons, wagons and provisions. They 
came close upon the intrenchments at night, but were too 
much exhausted to attempt an attack ; and rested on their 
arms. 

" I need not recapitulate what followed, — how they found 
the camp deserted, how the batteries set the steamboat on 
fire ; for it is an old and familiar story. The prisoners taken 
tell hard stories of their ofiicers. They report, that, when the 
officers were escaping across the river in some flatboats, a 
soldier sprang into the water, and grasped the sides ; and 
that the officers drew their swords, and cut off* the fingers of 
the man ! I give it as it was told me by one who had it 
from the lips of the prisoners. He reports that a large 
number were drowned. 

"It is not pleasant to hear such a story, or accept it as 
truth ; but panic-stricken men will do almost any thing. It 
is related by the historian of Old Newbury, that, when the 
news of the battle of Lexington reached that town, there was 
great excitement. Men ran through the streets, crying that 
the red-coats were at Ipswich, cutting and slashing all be- 
fore them ; that the inhabitants immediately packed up their 
valuables, and prepared to get across the river ; that one 
17 



'2bS FIELD, GUXBOAT, HOSPITAL, AXD PEISOX. 

man had his family in a boat, and one of his children, an 
infant, cried, and he exclaimed. ' Throw the brat overboard, 
or we shall all be found out and killed ! * A lady seized 
what she supposed to be her infant, which was lying on the 
bed. and ran in great terror till exhausted ; when, stopping 
to rest a moment, she discovered that she had a big black 
cat in her arms ! It is possible, therefore, that the state- 
ments of this prisoner may be correct." 

Among the duties of our soldiers, sometimes, were those 
of raiders. — men who would fearlessly scour the country, 
crippling the enemy, and, while failing to engage in battle 
with the foe, would yet do much to aid the cause of liberty. 
A few details of the great raid in Mississippi, by Col. 
Grierson's cavalry, may be of interest : — 

"In obedience to orders of Col. B. H. Grierson. com- 
manding the first cavalry brigade. Col. Edward Prince 
moved with his regiment, the Seventh Illinois Cavalry Vol- 
unteers, five hundred and forty-two ofiacers and men, from 
Lagrange. Tenn., at ten o'clock, a.m.. on the 17th of April, 
on the Ripley Road, and camped on the plantation of Dr. 
Ellis, four miles north-west of Ripley, Miss., distance about 
thirty miles. 

" The order of march for this day was to be as follows : 
Sixth Illinois in advance, Lieut.-Col. Reuben Loomis com- 
manding, followed by the Seventh Illinois and Second 
Iowa ; but the Sixth Illinois, taking the wrong road near 
Lagrange, was thrown to the west, and did not rejoin the 
command till near camp. As the Seventh Illinois was just 
going into camp, Col. Prince discovered a party of five or 



BA TTLE-SCEXES. — WEST AXD SO UTH- WEST. 259 

six rebels crossing a field ; and immediately sent a party in 
pursuit, who captured three of the number. 

*' The march of the 22d was terrible, because the swamps 
of the Okanoxubee River were overflowed. After moving 
four miles south of Louisville, they marched a distance of 
eight miles through a swamp. On each side of the road 
were enormous trees ; and the water was everyAvhere from 
three to four feet deep, with, every few hundred yards, a 
mire-hole, in which frequently, for a few moments, man and 
horse were lost to view. The Seventh Illinois, being in the 
rear, found these holes almost impassable, from the action of 
the large body of cavalry which had preceded them ; and 
they were compelled to leave drowned some twenty noble 
animals, whose strength was not equal to such an emergency. 
The men so dismounted removed their saddles, placed them 
on some other led beasts, and pushed onward cheerfully. 

"At ten o'clock, p.m.. Col. Blackburn, of the Seventh 
Illinois, was sent forward with two hundred men to Decatur ; 
which place he passed through at four, a.m., of the 24th, 
and captured two trains of cars and two locomotives at 
Xewton Station at seven o'clock. The rest of the com- 
mand arrived at nine o'clock. The bridges and trestles 
were found burned six miles each side of the station, 
seventy-five prisoners captured and paroled, two warehouses 
full of commissary-stores utterly destroyed by fire, and also 
four car-loads of ammunition, mostly for heavy artillery. 
The bridges, &c., on the east side of the station, were 



260 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

destroyed by the secood battalion of the Sixth Illinois, under 
Major M. H. Starr. The whole command left Newton at 
eleven, a.m., of the 24th, and marched through Garlandville 
to the plantation of Mr. Bender, about twelve miles from 
Newton, where they encamped. The distance traversed on 
the 23d and 24th was eighty miles, and all this without 
scarcely stopping. 

" Although Col. Prince had marched his regiment forty- 
one miles, — during a large portion of the time through 
drenching rain, — he believed, that as the citizens were arm- 
ing themselves, and the news about them w^as flying in all 
directions. Pearl River should be crossed, and the New- 
Orleans and Jackson Road reached without any delay what- 
ever. He therefore obtained permission from Col. Grierson 
to move directly forward, w^ith two hundred picked men of 
his regiment, to secure the ferry across Pearl River before the 
enemy should be able to destroy it. The distance to the river 
was thirteen miles, and from there to Ilazlehurst's Station 
was twelve miles. The remainder of the two regiments were 
to come forward as soon as they were sufficiently rested. 

" Col. Prince started with the two hundred at one, 
A.M., and reached the bank of the river before daylight ; 
when, contrary to his information, the flatboat was upon the 
opposite side of the river. Not daring to call out, he spoke 
to a volunteer, who, with a powerful horse, undertook to 
swim the river ; but the rapidity of the swollen stream car- 
ried him below the landing, where there was a quicksand, 
and he ])arely returned to shore with his life. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 261 

" A few moments later, a man came down from the house, 
toward the river, and, in true North-Carolina accent, asked, 
in a careless way, if we wanted to cross ; to which he got 
a reply, — in a very capital imitation of his twang, — that a 
few of them did want to go across, and that it seemed harder 
to wake up his nigger ferryman than to catch the conscripts. 
The proprietor took the bait, apologized for the detention, 
and woke up his ferryman, who immediately brought over 
the boat, which thenceforward became the property of Uncle 
Sam ; the proprietor all the while believing he was lavishing 
his attention on the First Regiment of Alabama Cavalry, 
fresh from Mobile ! The breakfast given to the Alabama 
colonel that morning was highly relished and appreciated ; 
but too much time was not spent over it, and the importance 
of speed was clearly proved only half an hour afterwards, 
when they caught a courier flying to the ferry with the news 
that the Yankees were coming, and that all the ferries were 
to be immediately destroyed. 

" At Hazlehurst Station, Col Prince succeeded in captur- 
ing a large number of cars ; four or five being loaded with 
shell and amnumition, and others with army-stores. The 
whole of this property was utterly destroyed. 

" And here comes one of the most amusing episodes of 
the whole affair. Capt. Forbes, who, it will be remembered, 
had been sent to Macon from near Starkville, rejoined the 
command just as they had all crossed Pearl River. Having 
been unable to take Macon, he followed their trail to 
Newton, where he was informed that they had gone to En- 
terprise, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. He followed on 



262 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

to that place, and marched with his little squad into town, 
where he found about three thousand rebel troops just get- 
ting off the cars. He promptly raised a flag of truce, and 
boldly rode forward, demanding the surrender of the place 
in the name of Col. Grierson. 

" The commanding rebel ofi&cer. Col. Goodwin, asked one 
hour to consider the proposition, and wished to know where 
Capt. Forbes would be at that time. The captain answered 
that he would go back with the reply to the reserve, which 
he did pretty rapidly, after having shrewdly ascertained the 
strength of the enemy. It is not known whether Enter- 
prise ever surrendered or not, or whether the rebel colonel 
is still trying to find the ' reserve ' to make his penitent bow ; 
but one thing is certain, that Capt. Forbes, with his little 
squad of thirty-five men, did not intend to take those three 
thousand rebel prisoners that time at least, and was laugh- 
ing in his sleeve many miles off while those Enterpris-ing 
people were trembling in their boots. 

" This noble band of heroes arrived at Baton Rouge 
about noon of May 2, where their triumphal entry creat- 
ed a furor of joyful excitement that will not cease till it 
has thrilled every loyal heart upon this continent ; ay, every 
heart that loves liberty and human bravery throughout the 
civilized world. 

" Some idea of the endurance of these men can be gleaned 
from the fact, that during the last thirty hours, in which 
they had ridden eighty miles, fought two or three skirmishes, 
destroyed bridges, camps, equipage, &c., swam a river, and 
captured forty -two prisoners, and quantities of horses, 



BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 263 

they had scarcely halted at all, and went through these ter- 
rible exertions without food for man or beast ! During the 
last night, it was observed that nearly the entire column, 
worn out almost beyond human endurance, were fast asleep 
upon horseback, except when a sharp report of a carabine 
told of the nearness of the enemy ; and all this was ren- 
dered without one w^ord of murmur or complaint from any 
lip, either of officers or privates. 

" The only casualties and losses among them wdiich we 
have to deplore are one killed, and fourteen wounded, — 
all of the Seventh Illinois. 

" While several of our scouts were feeding their horses 
at the stables of a wealthy planter of secession proclivities, 
the proprietor, looking on, apparently deeply interested in 
the proceeding, suddenly burst out with — 

" ' Well, boys, I can't say I have any thing against you. 
I don't know but, on the whole, I rather like you. You have 
not taken any thing of mine except a little corn for your 
horses, and that you are welcome to. I have heard of you 
all over the country. You are doing the boldest thing ever 
done : but you'll be trapped, though ; you'll be trapped ; 
mark me ! ' 

" At another place, where our men thought it advisable to 
represent themselves as Jackson's Cavalry, a whole company 
was very graciously entertained by a strong secession lady, 
who insisted on whipping a negro because he did not bring 
the hoecakes fast enough. 

" On one occasion, seven of Col. Grierson's scouts stopped 
at the house of a wealthy planter to feed their jaded horses. 



264 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Upon ascertaining that he had been doing a little guerilla 
business on his own account, our men encouraged him to the 
belief, that, as they were the invincible Van Dorn Cavalry, 
they would soon catch the Yankees. The secession gentle- 
man heartily approved of what he supposed to be their in- 
tentions, and enjoined upon them the necessity of making as 
rapid marches as possible. As our men had discovered two 
splendid carriage-horses in the planter's stables, they thought, 
under the circumstances, they would be justified in making 
an exchange ; which they accordingly proceeded to do. 

'' As they were taking the saddles from their own tired 
steeds, and placing them on the backs of the wealthy gue- 
rilla's horses, the proprietor discovered them, and at once 
objected. He was met with the reply, that, as he was 
anxious that the Yankees should be speedily overtaken, those 
after them should have good horses. 

" ' All right, gentlemen,' said the planter : ' I will keep 
your animals until you return. I suppose you'll be back in 
two or three days at the farthest. When you return, you'll 
find they have been well cared for.' 

" Our soldiers were sometimes asked where they got their 
blue coats. They always replied, if they were travelling 
under the name of Van Dorn's Cavalry, that they took them 
at Holly Springs, of the Yankees. This always excited 
great laughter among the secessionists. Our scouts, how- 
ever, usually wore the regular secesh uniform." 

The Army of the West cannot be mentioned without a 
thought of Gen. Fremont, who was such a favorite with our 
Western soldiers, and who so reluctantly obeyed the sum- 



BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 265 

mons to leave them. This is not the place to discuss his 
merits as a man or a leader ; but at least it may be said 
that in him the slave had a friend, and that his proclamation 
of freedom has to-day all the grandeur of a mighty and a 
fulfilled prophecy. 

The following extract from a letter in the " Boston Jour- 
nal " may interest many by its personal allusions : — 

" On returning from a visit to the arsenal this morning, I 
had the pleasure of witnessing the presentation of a flag to 
the body-guard by Mrs. Fremont. It was a piece of good 
fortune wholly unexpected ; but, looking up Chateau Avenue 
as we passed along, we noticed an unusual crowd before the 
* palatial mansion of Mrs. Brant,' and, of course, wished to 
see what was going on. 

" The body-guard were drawn up in two long lines in 
front of the house, with drawn swords, all looking straight- 
forward, very fierce and solemn, — the celebrated, dashing, 
daring Major Zagonyi at their head, on a magnificent horse, 
which he caused to jump about in a most extraordinary 
manner. 

" There were so many about the house, it would have 
\C been impossible for me to have seen any thing, if the awe- 
inspiring sentries on either side of the gate had not been 
so much modified by the eloquence of a friend as to allow me 
the privilege of entering the yard, where I had a fine view 
of every thing. 

" Mrs. Fremont did not appear for some time. The guard 
sat patiently on their horses, solemn and immovable. I sat, 
impatient, conversing with one of the guard, who, being de- 



266 FIELD, (JUNE OAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON 

layed at Warsaw on account of illness, was not one of those 
who made the brilliant but reckless dash into Springfield. 
He was very communicative, and pointed out those who had 
fought most bravely. I stared in mute astonishment at an 
orderly-sergeant, who, he assured me, had killed nine men ! 
His imperfect English was extremely amusing. He said 
that ' the first horse the sergeant rode was badly wounded. 
He yumped off that, and yumped on to a second : that was 
immediately killed. He yumped off that, and yumped on to 
a third, which Avas soon killed also. Then he yumped 
back on to the wounded horse, and soon got a bad wound 
himself.' 

" The two sons of Gen. Fremont, fine black-eyed little 
fellows of ten and twelve, also attracted my notice. They 
were in military dress, and stood on the steps talking with 
the officers, apparently great favorites. The oldest accom- 
panied his father to Warsaw and Springfield. 

" At last, there was a general whisper of ' She's com- 
ing ! ' and I started up to see the ceremony. The staff 
formed a double semicircle around the door ; Gen. Fremont, 
his wife, and Major Zagonyi, in front. ' Madame,' as they 
call her, then presented a handsome flag, draped with crape, 
to the major, who replied briefly, and then received a few 
congratulatory words from the general himself. Then, com- 
mitting the colors to the care of the orderly-sergeant who 
had fought so gallantly, he mounted his fiery steed once 
more, and made a pleasant, touching address to the body- 
guard. Three hearty cheers were then given for Fremont, 
three more for ' Madame ' (who responded by a most gra- 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 267 

cious bow, taking off the slightly jaunty black hat she wore), 
and the scene closed. 

"Every one — every lady at least — will like to know 
how 'Jessie' looked, and how Major Zagonyi impressed 
your correspondent. She is tall and stout, with a striking 
face, — not handsome at all; but meet her anywhere, and 
you 'vvould feel sure that she was no common person. There 
is an entire forgetfulness of self, an entire absence of af- 
fectation and embarrassment, that is charming. She pre- 
sented the flag with the same careless ease that you would 
feel in giving a bouquet to a friend. Her features are large, 
and slightly coarse ; but her dark, handsome eyes, full of 
life and intelligence, and a very pleasant smile, fully atone 
for that. The soldiers are devoted to her. She has taken 
great interest in them ; visiting their barracks, and going to 
the hospitals, where she shakes hands with as many as pos- 
sible, adding for each a kind, cheerful word. 

" But I am running away from Major Zagonyi, who cer- 
tainly deserves a description. He is rather short and slen- 
der, with a sharp, wide-awake face, brown hair, cut close, 
dark eyes, full of fire, and such a mustache !" 

Horace Greeley, in his " History of the American Con- 
flict," thus refers to the gallant major, who Avas at Spring- 
field with only three hundred companions, and was to 
meet there twelve hundred infantry and four hundred cav- 
alry : — 

" Zagonyi did not quail. To his officers he said, ' Fol- 
low me, and do like me !' To his soldiers, — 

" ' Comrades, the hour of danger has come : your first 



268 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

battle is before you. The enemy is two thousand strong, 
and you are three hundred. If any of you would turn back, 
you can do so now.' 

" Not a man stepped from the ranks. He then added, 
* I will lead you. Let the watchword be, The Union and 
Fremont I Draw sabres ! By the right flank ; quick trot ; 
march ! ' 

" With a ringing shout, the third battalion dashed eagerly 
forward. 

"A miry brook, a stout rail-fence, a narrow lane, with 
sharpshooters judiciously posted behind fences and trees, — 
such were the obstacles to be overcome before getting at the 
enemy. A fence must be taken down, the lane traversed, 
the sharpshooters defied, before a blow could be struck. Ali 
was the work of a moment ; but, when that moment had 
passed, seventy of their number were stretched dead, or 
writhing on the ground. Major Dorsheimer, an aide to Fre- 
mont, who came up soon after, thus describes the close of 
the fight : — 

" 'The remnant of the Guard are now in the field under 
the hill ; and, from the shape of the ground, the rebel fire 
sweeps with the roar of a whirlwind over their heads. A 
line of fire upon the summit marks the position of the rebel 
infantry ; while nearer, and on the top of a lower eminence, 
to the right, stand their horse. Up to this time, no Guards- 
man has struck a blow ; but blue-coats and bay horses lie 
thick along the bloody lane. Their time has come. Lieut. 
Maytheuzi, with thirty men, is ordered to attack the cavalry. 
With sabres flashing over their heads, the little band of he- 



BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SO UTH- WEST. 269 

roes spring toward their tremendous foe. Right upon the cen- 
tre they charge. The dense mass opens, the blue-coats force 
their way in, and the whole rebel squadron scatter in dis- 
graceful flight through the corn-fields in the rear. The boys 
follow them, sabring the fugitives. Days afterward, the 
enemy's horse lay thick among the uncut corn. 

"' Zagonyi holds his main body until Maytheuzi disap- 
pears in the cloud of rebel cavalry ; then his voice rises 
through the air, "In open order, charge!" The line 
opens out to give play to their sword-arm. Steeds respond 
to the ardor of their riders ; and quick as thought, with 
thrilling cheers, the noble hearts rush into the leaden tor- 
rent which pours down the incline. With unabated fire, the 
gallant fellows press through. The fierce onset is not even 
checked. The foe do not wait for them : they waver, 
break, and fly. The Guardsmen spur into the midst of the 
rout, and their fast-falling swords work a terrible revenge. 
Some of the boldest of the Southrons retreat into the woods, 
and continue a murderous fire from behind trees and thickets. 
Seven Guard horses fall upon a space not more than twenty 
feet square. As his steed sinks under him, one of the offi- 
cers is caught around the shoulders by a grape-viue, and 
hangs dangling in the air till he is cut down by his friends. 
The rebel foot are flying in furious haste from the field. 
Some take refuge in the fair-ground, some hurry into the 
corn-fields ; but the greater part run along the edge of the 
wood, swarm over the fence into the road, and hasten to 
the village. The Guardsmen folloAv : Zagonyi leads them. 
Over the loudest roar of battle rings his clarion voice, " Come 



270 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

on, Old Kentuck ! * I'm with you ! " and the flash of his 
sword-blade tells his men where to go. As he approaches 
a barn, a man steps from behind the door, and lowers his 
rifle ; but, before it has reached a level, Zagonyi's sabre-point 
descends upon his head, and his life-blood leaps to the very 
top of the huge barn-door. 

" ' The conflict now rages through the village, in the pub- 
lic square, and along the streets. Up and down the Guards 
ride in squads of three and four, and, wherever they see a 
group of the enemy, charge upon and scatter them. It is 
hand-to-hand. No one but has had a share in the fray.' 

" Zagonyi wisely evacuated the town at nightfall, know- 
ing that, by night, he was at the mercy of the rebels if they 
should muster courage to return and attack him. Of his 
three hundred men, eighty- four were dead or wounded." 

Passing from Zagonyi's brilliant charge at Springfield to 
the great battle at Pittsburg Landing, " Carleton's " descrip- 
tion of the scene on the night of Buell's advance to the re- 
enforcement of Gen. Grant and his weary soldiers, who had 
fought well, but were exhausted, is here given. It is taken 
from the first of his series of battle-histories for the Ameri- 
can youth, whose value will only increase as years go on. 
He says, " Through the night, the shells from the gunboats 
crashed along the rebel lines. So destructive ivas the fire, 
that Beauregard was obliged to fall back from the position 
he had won by such sacrifice of life. There was activity at 
the Landing. The steamers went to Savannah, took on 
board McCook's and Crittenden's divisions of Buell's army, 

* Of the Guard, one hundred were Kentuckians. 



BA TTLE-SCENES. — WEST A ND SO UTH- WEST. 271 

and transported tliem to Pittsburg. Few words were 
spoken as tliey marched up tlie hill in the darkness, with the 
thousands of wounded on either hand ; but there were many- 
silent thanksgivings that they had come. The wearied sol- 
diers lay down in battle -line to broken sleep, with their 
loaded guns beside them. The sentinels stood, like statues, 
in silence on the borders of that valley of death, watching 
and Avaiting for the morning. 

" The battle-cloud hung like a pall above the forest ; the 
gloom and darkness deepened ; the stars, which had looked 
calmly down from the depths of heaven, withdrew from the 
scene, — a horrible scene ! for the exploding shells had set 
the forest on fire. The flames consumed the withered leaves 
and twigs of the thickets, and crept up to the helpless 
wounded, to friend and foe alike. There was no hand but 
God's to save them. He heard their cries and groans. The 
rain came, extinguishing the flames : it drenched the men 
in arms, waiting for daybreak to come to renew the strife ; 
but there were hundreds of wounded, parched with fever, 
restless with pain, who thanked God for the rain." 

Again Mr. Coffin w^rites : — 

" On the Sabbath after the battle, the chaplains of the 
regiments had religious exercises. How different was the 
scene ! Instead of the cannonade, there were prayers to 
God ; instead of the musketry, there were songs of praise. 
There were tears shed for those wdio had fallen ; but there 
were devout thanksgivings that they had given their lives 
so freely for their country, and for the victory they had 
achieved by their sacrifice. 



272 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" One of the chaplains, in conducting the service, read a 
hymn, commencing, — 

*Look down, O Lord ! O Lord, forgive; 
Let a repenting rebel live ! ' 

But he was suddenly interrupted by a patriotic soldier, who 
cried, ' No, sir ; not unless they lay doAvn their arms, every 
one of them/ 

*' After the battle, a great many men and women visited 
the ground, searching for the bodies of friends who had 
fallen. Lieut. Pfieff, an officer of an Illinois regiment, was 
killed, and his wife came to obtain his body. No one knew 
where he was buried. The poor woman wandered through 
the forest, examining all the graves. Suddenly a dog, poor 
and emaciated, bounded towards her, his eyes sparkling 
with pleasure, and barking his joy to see his mistress. 
When her husband went to the army, the dog followed him, 
and was with him through the battle, watched over his 
dead body through the terrible contest, and, after he was 
buried, remained day and night, a mourner ! He led his 
mistress to the spot : the body was disinterred. The two 
sorrowful ones, the devoted wife and the faithful brute, 
watched beside the precious dust till it was laid in its final 
resting-place beneath the prairie-flowers." * 

* Two Kentucky regiments met face to face, and fought each other 
with terrible resolution; and it happened that one of the Federal soldiers 
wounded and captured his brother, and, after handing him back, began 



BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 273 

Among the battles fonglit by the Army of the South-west 
was that of Prairie Ridge, Benton County, Ark., in 1862. 
A correspondent of the " New-York Herald " thus describes 
the final day of the three-days' struggle : — 

" Daybreak and sunrise at last ; not the bright clear sun 
that rose over Austerlitz, and cheered Napoleon to his great 
victory, but a dull, copper-tinted globe, slowly pushing 
itself up through the murky cloud of cannon-smoke, that 
even the long hours of a winter night had not dispelled. 
The heavens soon became overcast, as if the elements them- 
selves foreshadowed an impending calamity. 

" The fortune of the day was depending upon Gen. Sigel ; 
and that officer calmly but carefully prepared his command 
for the conflict. Our whole force was concentrated to the 
north of our camp ; and what till then had been our rear 
became our front. Col. Carr's division was placed in the 
centre, occupying the road a short distance on either side. 
The enemy during the night had planted some of his bat- 
teries on an eminence about two hundred feet high, sloping 
away to the north, but precipitous on the side in our front. 
Batteries and large bodies of infantry were posted at his 
right base of this hill, and at the edge of some timber to its 
left. Infantry and cavalry, with a few guns, were posted 

firing at a man near a tree ; when the captured brother called to him, and 
said, " Don't shoot there any more! — that's father! " 

A Federal volunteer and a Eebel soldier were found dead, with hands 
clasped. It is supposed that they fell side by side, mortally wounded, and, 
making friends, died in peace. What a contrast to the spectacle around I 
18 



274 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

on his extreme left beyond the road ; and, to oppose these, 
Col. Davis was sent to our extreme left. 

" It was apparent, that, if we could dislodge the rebels 
from this hill, the victory would be with our banners. With 
the skill of an expert in military science, Gen. Sigel ar- 
ranged his columns for the coming action. His foremost 
line was driiwn up in battle-array, with infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery, all in their proper positions. At a suitable 
distance in the rear his reserves were placed, ready to be 
brought forward at any needed moment. A level, open 
field, of great extent, gave splendid opportunity for an im- 
posing display. It had last been a corn-field ; and the white 
and withered stalks were still on the ground, forming a fine 
background for the dark-blue uniforms worn by our men. 
Throughout the morning, skirmishing and light encounters 
had transpired with the portion of the enemy opposed to our 
centre and right ; but, on the left, not a gun was fired until 
the whole of Gen. Sigel's command was in readiness. 

" At a little past eight o'clock, the decisive portion of the 
engagement commenced. Along the entire line, the can- 
noneers stood to their guns ; and, at the word of command, 
fire was opened. A brisk cannonade was kept up for up- 
wards of two hours, with occasional intervals of from five 
to fifteen minutes' duration. The sharp booming of six, 
twelve, and eighteen pounders followed each other in rapid 
succession. 

" The shot from the rebel batteries were well directed, 
but failed of execution equal to those from ours. Several 
guns were disabled and taken to the rear, and their places 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 275 

speedily supplied by others. During the cannonade, Col. 
Carr's and Col. Davis's divisions advanced slowly upon the 
enemy until they held the edge of the timber, where the 
rebels had position in the morning. A battery of three guns, 
in front of a wooded space on the left of the road, at length 
became troublesome ; and orders w^ere issued for a bayonet 
charge to capture it. Just at this moment, a gust of wind 
blew away the smoke from the front of the rebels, revealing 
their exact position. The Twelfth Missouri was designated 
for the honor of taking the battery, and nobly acquitted 
themselves, advancing at the pas de charge under a terrible 
musketry-fire, possessing themselves of the guns, and hold- 
ing them until their supports came up. TavcIvc of their men 
were killed in this charge, and a large number w^ounded. 
Another gun was shortly after taken in the timber near by, 
and still another spiked piece on the extreme right of Davis's 
division. 

" After sustaining a heavy cannonade for two hours and 
a half, the rebels showed signs of a desire to leave the 
ground. Their batteries were withdrawn from the hill, and 
their infantry was fast melting away ; large numbers of 
them, as we since learn, fleeing in terror at the fearful fire 
under which they had stood. The Eighteenth and Twenty- 
second Indiana Regiments were ordered to charge, and did 
so in gallant style ; but the rebels were too quick for the 
movement to succeed in taking the guns. Their infantry 
fled in disorder ; and their artillerymen had barely oppor- 
tunity to attach their horses to the guns, and move them 
from the field. It was useless to pursue with cavalry, the 



276 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, 

country being too densely wooded to admit of using this arm 
of the service. The entire line moved forward to the sup- 
port of the Indiana regiments ; and, up and down its entire 
length, the air resounded with cheer upon cheer from our 
exultant troops. The enemy had been driven from his strong- 
hold, and victory was upon our banners. 

"Gen. Sigel went in pursuit of the fleeing rebels, fol- 
lowing their main body for twelve miles, and capturing a 
considerable quantity of wagons, supplies, &c., several 
ammunition- wagons, a load of powder, and nearly a thou- 
sand stand of arms. They fled too rapidly to permit of a 
capture of the entire force ; and, on the morning of the 9th, 
Gen. Sigel's division returned to camp. A portion of the 
rebels fled to the eastward, felling timber across the road to 
prevent pursuit. Another portion turned to the westward, 
fleeing by the way of Bentonville towards the sunny South, 
When last heard from, they were in camp eight miles to the 
southward. A flag of truce came in to-day to arrange for 
burying the dead, and making exchange of prisoners. 

"The appearance of the hill and woods shelled by Gen. 
Sigel's division attests the terrific shower of missiles that 
fell upon them. Walking over the ground immediately after 
the flight of the enemy and the pursuit of our forces, I found 
it thickly strewn with dead and wounded, most of them 
having fallen by the deadly artillery projectiles. On the 
hill, where the cannonade had been severe, trees, rocks, and 
earth bore witness to its fierceness. Fifteen wounded rebels 
lay in one group, and were piteously imploring each passer- 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 211 

by for water, and relief for their wounds. A few rods from 
them was another, whose arm had been torn off by a can- 
non-shot, leaving the severed member on the ground a few 
feet distant : near him was the dead body of a rebel, whose 
legs and one arm had been shattered by a single shot. Be- 
hind a tree, a few yards distant, was stretched a corpse, 
with two-thirds of its head blown away by the explosion of 
a shell, and near it a musket broken into three pieces. Still 
farther along was the body of a rebel soldier, who had been 
killed by a grape-shot through the breast. A letter had 
fallen from his pocket, which, on examination, proved to be 
a long and well-written love-epistle from his betrothed in 
East Tennessee. It was addressed to Pleasant J. Williams, 
Churchill's regiment, Fayetteville, Ark. Around him in all 
directions were his dead and dying comrades, some stretched 
at full length on the turf, and others contorted as if in ex- 
treme agony. 

" The bursting of shells had set fire to the dry leaves on 
the ground, and the woods were burning in every direction. 
Efforts were made to remove the wounded before the flames 
should reach them, and nearly all were taken to places of 
safety. Several were afterwards found in secluded spots, 
some of them still alive, but horribly burned and blackened 
by the conflagration. 

" The rebels, in nearly every instance, removed the shoes 
from the dead and mortally wounded both of their own 
army and ours. Of all the corpses I saw, I do not think 
one-twentieth had been left with their shoes untouched. In 
some cases, pantaloons were taken, and occasionally an 



278 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

overcoat or a blouse was missing. A large number of the 
killed among the rebels were shot through the head, while 
the majority of the dead were shot through the breast. 

*' Col. Hendricks of the Twenty-second Indiana was killed 
while gallantly leading his men in the action of the 7th, under 
Col. Davis. Two of the German regiments illustrated the 
Teutonic love of music by singing one of the songs of Fader- 
land while they stood under fire of the rebel batteries on the 
morning of the 8th. The Illinois regiments were not promi- 
nent in the action, with the exception of the Thirty-fifth, Col. 
William Smith (wounded), and he Thirty-sixth, Col. Greu- 
sel ; but they were all prompt to execute every order which 
they received. The Forty-fourth Illinois was in the pursuit 
of the rebels, and returned, bringing nearly a hundred pris- 
oners and as many horses. 

" There are no data, as yet, by which we can estimate 
the loss of the enemy. Their dead and wounded on the 
ground were much more numerous than ours ; at least one- 
half or two -thirds more. For ten miles on the road by 
which they retreated, the houses were full of wounded. The 
whole line of buildings on the route hence to Keetsville is 
one grand hospital. Our entire loss is estimated at a little 
more than a thousand, of whom about one-fourth are 
killed." 

Gen. Grant and the Army of the "West conquered Vicks- 
burg. An account of the siege of that city is given in the 
following spirited poem : * — 

* By Mrs. Caroline A. Hayden. 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST, 279 

" Day broke ; and on the crested hill Avhere heavy earthworks frowned, 

In narrow gorge and valley fair where stillness reigned profound, 

Along the edge of dark ravines, and up the craggy steeps 

Of summits where the crispy grass and blackened rock-moss creeps, 

'Neath gloomy battlements that fling their shadows miles away. 

Are gathered countless numbers in battle's grim array, 

"Watching now the curling, wreathing smoke from many a hamlet green ; 

And now the spires of Vicksburg, for the first time dimly seen. 

There was silence, oh, so deep and still ! as if the very air 
Were loath to stir the silken banners trailing idly there, — 
The dear old stars and stripes below ; and up on many a height 
The blood-red bars of treason, flaunting proudly in their sight. 
Oh ! long before the sun shall gild yon city in its pride. 
Pull many a messenger of death along our ranks shall glide ; 
Yet firm the solid columns stand, and breast the battle's shock. 
As if each separate form Avas cut from out the quarried rock. 

While yet the glancing sunbeams kiss each lofty spire and tree. 
The clarion's blast is thrilling forth, wild, glorious, and free ; 
And, ere its sound had died away, another, wilder still, 
Comes hissing with a shower of lead from valley, glade, and hill. 
The air is rent with fearful yells while charge on charge is made; 
The firm earth trembles at each shock of heavy cannonatle ; 
And, when the curling vapor lifts, it shows our dauntless men 
With trailing muskets sweeping onward to the front again. 

On, on, through rifts which Death has made, through sheets of flaming 

fire, 
Through rifle-pit and deep morass, through blood and slime and mire, 
Adown the steeps of dark ravine, and up the ragged sides 
Of beetling clitFs, where scarcely even the hardiest plant abides. 
To gain yon towering battlement, down its traitorous ensign tear. 
And plant the glorious stars and stripes with shouts of victory there ! 



280 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

*Tis noon, and still our army ranges seven miles in length ; 
'Tis night, and still our army proves its undiminished strength : 
For, though the battle-field is strewn with heaps on heaps of slain, 
A countless host, with nerves of steel, for vengeance yet remain ; 
And tireless feet, and watchful eye, and dauntless hearts, now wait 
Bound that beleaguered city, struggling wildly with its fate. 

The hush precedes the tempest : they will rally yet once more, 

With the strength of desperation, more reckless than before; 

Will pour their murderous volleys out, until the air is rife 

With sulphurous smoke, and hideous sounds of wailing, death, and strife. 

But God has given us a Grant; and when again we rest, 

'Twill be to plant the stars and stripes on yonder green hill's crest; 

And, though a legion more should fill yon proud beleaguered towers, 

They must yield ; for Right is on our side, and Vicksburg must be ours." 

The victory was not gained at Vicksburg without severe 
fighting, and the loss of many noble men. One of the most 
touching incidents in connection with it is that told of a dying 
drummer-boy, who did not fail to do an errand to Gen. 
Sherman with all needful accuracy. George H. Boker has 
put the incident into most vivid pictorial-poetical form, as 
follows : — 

BEFORE VICKSBURG, May 19, 1863. 

BY GEORGE H. BOKER. 

While Sherman stood beneath the hottest fire 
That from the lines of Vicksburg gleamed, 
And bomb-shells tumbled in their smoky gyre, 
And grape-shot hissed, and case-shot screamed, 
Back from the front there came, 
Weeping and sorely lame, 



BATTLE-SCENES. — WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 281 

The merest child, the youngest face, 
Man ever saw in such a fearful place. 

Stifling his tears, he limped his chief to meet ; 

But when he paused, and tottering stood, 
Around the circle of his little feet 

There spread a pool of bright, young blood. 
Shocked at his doleful case, 
Sherman cried, " Halt ! front face ! 
Who are you ? Speak, my gallant boy ! " 
" A drummer, sir, — Fifty-fifth Illinois." 

" Are you not hit ? " — " That's nothing ! Only send 

Some cartridges : our me"n are out. 
And the foe press us." — " But, my little friend" — 
" Don't mind me ! Did you hear that shout ? 
What If our men be driven ? 
Oh for the love of Heaven, 
Send to my colonel, general dear ! " 
" But you ? " — " Oh ! I shall easily find the rear." 

" rU see to that," cried Sherman ; and a drop 

Angels might envy dimmed his eye, 
As the boy, toiling toward the hill's hard top. 
Turned round, and, with his shrill child's cry, 
Shouted, " Oh, don't forget! 
We'll win the battle yet ! 
But let our soldiers have some more. 
More cartridges, sir, — caliber fifty-four ! " 

One brilliant episode of the operations of the Army of the 
West was the " Battle of the Clouds," as the assault of 
Lookout Mountain has been called. 



282 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Gen. Grant gave Ger. Hooker permission to assault the 
rebels on the mountain with all his force. " This order was 
received about noon on the 25th of November ; but, before 
nightfall, he had planned and had executed an attack which 
was as brilliant as daring. Two months' observation of 
the mountain, from his camp in the valley, had given him 
full knowledge of all its outlines, its roads, &c. ; and it is 
easy to believe that the plan which Hooker decided upon 
had had for some time a place in his mind. It was as unique 
in conception as it proved successful in execution. A small 
force, under Osterhaus, was ordered to make a feint upon the 
enemy's rifle-pits at tlie point (or ' nose,' as Rosecrans calls it) 
of the mountain, while, with Geary and Ireland and Crafts 
and Whitaker, he moved up the valley until in rear of the 
enemy's position, ascended the side of the range until the 
head of his column reached the palisades, marched forward, 
taking the rebel w^orks in flank and rear, and secured about 
thirteen hundred prisoners. The enemy fled around the nose 
of the mountain, closely pursued to a position on the opposite 
side, where Hooker again attacked. After one or two des- 
perate eflTorts, the rebel works were carried ; but it was at 
such a late hour (midnight), that it was impossible to dislodge 
them from a position controlling a mountain-road, by which 
they evacuated during the night. The mountain thus assaulted 
is fourteen hundred feet above the Tennessee River, and 
was held by a force of at least six thousand strongly forti- 
fied. He must be a regular mountaineer, who can, unopposed, 
make the ascent of the mountain without halting several 
times to rest ; and the story of the assault seems incredible 



BATTLE-SCENES.— WEST AND SOUTH-WEST. 283 

to one standing on the summit, where the rebels were 
posted, and looking at the rough ascent over which Hooker 
charged." * 

This wonderful passage in the history of the Chattanooga 
campaign has been made the subject of a song written by 
our consul at Venice, W. D. Howell, Esq., which is as 
follows : — 

" Where the dews and the rains of heaven have their fountain, 

Like its thunder and its lightning our braves burst on the foe, 
Up above the clouds, on Freedom's Lookout Mountain, 
Kaining life-blood like water on the valleys down below. 
Oh ! green be thy laurels that grow, 
Oh ! sweet be the wild-buds that blow, 
In the dells of the mountain where the braves are lying low. 

Light of our hope, and crown of our story. 

Bright as sunlight, pure as starlight, shall their deeds of daring glow, 
While the day and the night out of heaven shed their glory 

On Freedom's Lookout Mountain whence they routed Freedom's foe. 
Oh ! soft be the gales when they go 
Through the pines on the summit where they blow. 
Chanting solemn music for the souls that passed below." 

And thus may close this chapter, in which the writer has 
desired to twine a chaplet of unfading laurels for the broAvs 
of our Western and South-western heroes. More might 
have been said of Corinth, luka, Shiloh, Atlanta, and other 
places which have so lately won historic fame, but limited 
space forbade. Enough, however, has been recorded here 
to show that our pioneer-boys fought bravely, and did not 
fight in vain. 

* Harper's Monthly, October, 1865. 



284 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



CHAPTER VI. 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 

♦ Into a ward of the whitewashed walls, 

Where the dead and the dying- lay, 
Wounded by bayonets, shells, and balls, 

Somebody's darling was borne one day; 
Somebody's darling so young and so brave, 

Wearing yet on his pale, sweet face, 
Soon to be hid by the dust of the grave, 

The lingering light of his boyhood grace. 

Matted and damp are the curls of gold 

Kissing the sun of that fair young brow; 
Pale are the lips of delicate mould : 

Somebody's darling is dying now. 
Back from the beautiful blue-veined brow 

Brush all the wandering waves of gold; 
Cross his hands on his bosom now: 

Somebody's darling is still and cold. 

Kiss him once for ' somebody's ' sake; 

Murmur a prayer soft and low; 
One bright curl from its fair mates take, — 

They were somebody's pride, you know. 
* Somebody's' hand hath rested there: 

Was it a mother's, soft and white ? 
And have the lips of a sister fair 

Been baptized in those waves of light ? 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 



285 



God knows best I He was ' somebody's ' love ; 

* Somebody's ' heart enshrined him there ; 

* Somebody ' wafted his name above, 

Night and morn, on the wings of prayer; 
' Somebody ' wept when he marched away, 

Looking so handsome, brave, and grand; 
'Somebody's' kiss on his forehead lay; 

' Somebody ' clung to his parting hand. 

• Somebody's ' watching and waiting for him, 
Yearning to hold him again to their heart ; 

And there he lies with his blue eyes dim, 

And the smiling childlike lips apart. 
Tenderly bury the fair young dead, 

Pausing to drop on his grave a tear; 
Carve at the wooden slab at his head, 

♦ Somebody's darling slumbers here.' ' ' 

Anonymous. 



(4, 




ANY of these " darlings " filled our hospitals 
during the war ; and often they were tenderly- 
nursed : for the work which Margaret Fuller 
Ossoli inaugurated in Rome, when Italian patriots struck an 
unsuccessful blow for liberty, and which Florence Nightingale 
continued in the Crimea, was nobly taken up by Dorothea L. 
Dix, and her band of assistants, Avhose name was Legion, 
but who were a band of angels instead of demons ; till, at 
this hour, to have been a nurse in a hospital is a title-deed to 
respect and honor. All the nurses were not perfect ; but many, 
perhaps most, were worthy of a place beside Miss Nightingale, 
whose very shadow the sick and wounded soldiers of the 
Crimea would fain kiss. One of those good nurses has 
given, in a volume whose only fault is its brevity, entitled 
" Hospital Sketches," a graphic picture of scenes constantly 



286 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

occurring amid hospital-life. Both witty and pathetic, its 
irresistible humor sometimes moves the risibles, and anon 
its pathos calls forth a tear. With the wish that the whole 
could be enjoyed by the reader, the following extracts are 
given. After telling of the arrival of some eighty wounded 
men, she goes on to say, — 

" I pitied them so much, I dared not speak to them ; 
though, remembering all they had been through since the 
rout at Fredericks, I felt ready to be handmaid to the 
dreariest and dirtiest of them all. Presently Miss Blank 
tore me from my refuge behind piles of one-sleeved shirts, 
odd socks, bandages, and lint ; put basin, sponge, towels, 
and a block of brown soap, into my hands, with these ap- 
palling directions : — 

" ' Come, my dear, begin to wash as fast as you can. Tell 
them to take off socks, coats, and shirts ; scrub them well ; 
then put on clean shirts ; and the attendants will finish them 
off, and lay them in bed.' 

" If she had requested me to shave them all, or dance a horn- 
pipe on the stove-funnel, I should have been less staggered ; 
but to scrub some dozen lords of creation at a moment's no- 
tice was really — really . However, there was no time 

for nonsense ; and having resolved, when I came, to do every 
thing I was bid, I drowned my scruples in my wash-bowl, 
clutched my soap manfully, and, assuming a business-like 
air, made a dab at the first dirty specimen I saw, bent on 
performing my task vi et armis if necessaiy. I chanced to 
light on a withered old Irishman, wounded in the head, 
which caused that portion of his frame to be tastefully laid 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 287 

out like a garden, the bandages being tlie walks, his hair 
the shrubbery. He was so overpowered by the honor of 
having a lady wash him, as he expressed it, that he did 
nothing but roll up his eyes, and bless me in an irresistible 
style, which was too much for my sense of the ludicrous : so 
we laughed together. And, when I knelt down to take off his 
shoes, he ' flopped ' also, and wouldn't hear of my touching 
' them dirty craters. May your bed above be aisy, darlin', for 
the day's worrk ye are doon ! Whoosh ! there ye are ; and, 
bedad, its hard tellin' which is the dirtiest, the fut or the 
shoe.* It was ; and, if he hadn't been to the fore, I should 
have gone on pulling, under the impression that the ' fut ' 
was a boot ; for trousers, socks, shoes, and legs were a mass 
of mud. This comical tableau produced a general grin ; 
at which propitious beginning I took heart, and scrubbed 
away like any tidy parent on a Saturday night. Some of 
them took the performance like sleepy children, leaning their 
tired heads against me as I worked ; others looked grimly 
scandalized ; and several of the roughest colored like bashful 
girls. One wore a soiled little bag about his neck ; and, as 
I moved it to bathe his wounded breast, I said, — 
" ' Your talisman didn't save you, did it?' 
" ' Well, I reckon it did, marm ; for that shot would a* 
gone a couple a' inches deeper but for my old manamy's 
camphor-bag,' answered the cheerful philosopher. 

" Another, with a gunshot wound through the cheek, 
asked for a looking-glass, and, when I brought one, re- 
garded his swollen face with a dolorous expression, as he 
muttered, — 



288 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON, 

" ' I vow to gosh, that's too bad ! I warn't a bad-look- 
ing chap before ; and now I'm done for. Won't there be a 
thunderin' scar ! and what on eartli will Josephine Skinner 
say?' 

" He looked up at me with his one eye so appealingly, that 
I controlled my risibles, and assured him, that, if Josephine 
was a girl of sense, she would admire the honorable scar as 
a lasting proof that he had faced the enemy ; for all women 
thought a wound the best decoration a brave soldier could 
wear. I hope Miss Skinner verified the good opinion I so 
rashly expressed of her ; but I shall never know. 

" Having done up our human wash, and laid it out to 
dry, the second syllable of our version of the word ' war-fare* 
was enacted with much success. Great trays of bread, 
meat, soup, and coffee, appeared ; and both nurses and at- 
tendants turned waiters, serving out bountiful rations to all 
who could eat. I can call my pinafore to testify to my 
good will in the work ; for in ten minutes it was reduced to 
a perambulating bill of fare, presenting samples of all the 
refreshments going or gone. It was a lively scene, — the long 
room lined with rows of beds, each filled by an occupant 
whom water, shears, and clean raiment, had transformed 
from a dismal ragamuffin into a recumbent hero with a 
cropped head. To and fro rushed matrons, maids, and con- 
valescent ' boys,' skirmishing with knives and forks, retreat- 
ing with empty plates, marching and countermarching with 
unvaried success ; while the clash of busy spoons made most 
inspiring music for the charge of our Light Brigade. 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 289 

* Beds to the front of them, 
Beds to the right of them, 
Beds to the left of them : 

Nobody blundered. 
Beamed at by hungry souls, 
Screamed at with brimming bowls. 
Steamed at by army rolls 
Buttered and sundered. 
With coffee, not cannon, plied, 
Each must be satisfied, 
Whether they lived or died : 
All the men wondered.' 

" Very welcome seemed the generous meal after a week 
of suffering, exposure, and short commons. Soon the brown 
faces began to smile, as food, warmth, and rest did their 
pleasant work ; and the grateful ' thankees ' were followed 
by more graphic accounts of the battle and retreat than 
any paid reporter could have given us. 

" At five o'clock, a great bell rang ; and the attendants 
flew, not to arms, but to their trays, to bring up supper, 
when a second uproar announced that it was ready. The new- 
comers woke at the sound ; and I presently discovered that 
it took a very bad wound to incapacitate the defenders of 
the faith for the consumption of their rations. The amount 
that some of them sequestered was amazing ; but, when I 
suggested to the matron the probability of a famine hereaf- 
ter, that motherly lady cried out, ' Bless their hearts ! why 
shouldn't they eat ? its their only amusement : so fill every 
one ; and, if there's not enough to-night, I'll lend my share 
19 



290 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AJVD PRISON. 

to the Lord by giving it to the boys/ And, whipping up her 
cofFee-pot and plate of toast, she gladdened the eyes and 
stomachs of two or three dissatisfied heroes by serving them 
with a liberal hand ; and I haven't the slightest doubt, that, 
having cast her bread upon the waters, it came back but- 
tered, as another large-hearted old lady was wont to say. 

" Then came the doctor's evening visit, the administra- 
tion of medicines, washing feverish faces, smoothing tum- 
bled beds, wetting wounds, singing lullabies, and prepara- 
tions for the night. By eleven, the last labor of love was 
done, the last ' good-night ' spoken ; and, if any needed a 
reward for that day's work, they surely received it in the 
silent eloquence of those long lines of faces, showing pale 
and peaceful in the shaded rooms as we quitted them, fol- 
lowed by grateful glances that lighted us to bed, where rest 
the sweetest made our pillows soft, while Night and Nature 
took our places, filling that great house of pain with the 
healing miracles of Sleep, and his diviner brother Death." 

Miss Alcott bears the following testimony to the patience 
of those who were under her care : — 

" It is all very well to talk of the patience of woman,. and 
far be it from me to pluck that feather from her cap ; for. 
Heaven knows, she isn't allowed to wear many : but the pa- 
tient endurance of these men, under trials of the flesh, vvas 
truly Avonderful. Their fortitude seemed contagious ; and 
scarcely a cry escaped them, though I often longed to groan 
for them, when pride kept their white lips shut, while gi'eat 
drops stood upon their foreheads, and the bed shook with the 
irrepressible tremor of their tortured bodies." 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 291 

Hospitals and hospital -scenes can never in future be 
mentioned in our land witliout the mind's reverting to the 
noblest charity the world ever knew, — the Sanitary Commis- 
sion. Armed and equipped for its country's service by the 
loyal women at home, through their various general and 
auxiliary societies, this Commission gave comfort and ma- 
terial aid to hundreds of thousands among our brave de- 
fenders, and doubtless saved many thousands of valuable 
lives. No language can express what the Federal forces 
o^'e to the Sanitary Commission ; and in this obligation 
many a rebel shared. The following touching incident is 
but one among many similar scenes witnessed by the em- 
ployes of the Sanitary Commission : — 

" A rebel prisoner asked a clean shirt for his young com- 
rade, whose fresh but bloodstained bandages told of a recent 
amputation just above the knee. One of the Sanitary Com- 
mission gave the shirt, but said the boy must first be washed. 
' Who will do that?' — ' Oh ! any of those women yonder/ 
A kind-looking woman from Philadelphia was asked if she 
was willing to wash a rebel prisoner. ' Certainly,' was the 
prompt reply : ' I have a son in the Union army ; and I 
would like to have somebody wash him.' With towel and 
water in a tin basin, she cheerfully walked through the mud 
to the tent. Careful not to disturb the amputated leg, she 
gently removed the old shirt, and began to wash him; but 
the tenderness of a mother's heart was at work, and she 
began to cry over him, sa}ang that she imagined she was 
washing her own son. This was more than he could bear. 
He, too, began to weep, and to ask God to bless her for her 



292 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

kindness to him. The scene was too much for the by- 
standers ; and they left the Northern mother and the South- 
ern son to their sacred grief, wishing that tears could blot 
out the sin of this Rebellion, and the blood of this unnatural 
Avar." 

The noble self-sacrifice of our loyal women, who left the 
comforts of home for the dreary hospital and its often un- 
pleasant duties, cannot be too highly commended ; and the 
value of their presence to many a sick, wounded, and dying 
soldier, can never be computed. They were truly minister- 
ing spirits ; and in the land of angels alone can they ever be 
fully appreciated. The following incident, given by Prof. 
Hackett in his excellent " Memorials of the War," illus- 
trates the value of their presence in one case : — 

" Among the many brave, uncomplaining fellows who 
were brought up to the hospital from the battle of Freder- 
icksburg, was a light-eyed, intelligent youth, sixteen years 
old, who belonged to a Northern regiment. He appeared 
more aifectionate and tender, more refined and thoughtful, 
than many of his comrades, and attracted a good deal of 
attention from the attendants and visitors. Manifestly the 
pet of some household, which he had left, perhaps, in spite 
of entreaty and tears, he expressed an anxious longing for the 
arrival of his mother, who was expected, having been in- 
formed that he was mortally wounded, and failing fast. Ere 
she arrived, however, he died. 

^ But, before the end, almost his last act of consciousness 
was the thought that she had really come ; for as a lady 
sat by his pillow, and wiped the death-sweat from his brow, 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 293 

just as his siglit was failing, he rallied a little, like an ex- 
piring taper in its socket, looked up longingly and joyfully, 
and, in tones that drew tears from every eye, whispered au- 
dibly, 'Is that mother?' Then, drawing her toward him 
with all his feeble power, he nestled his head in her arms 
like a sleeping infant, and thus died, with the sweet word 
' mother ' on his quivering lips." 

Those " little gifts," how they have cheered our soldiers ! 
Prof. Hackett felicitously calls these gifts, and their inscrip- 
tions, " The Current between Home and Camp ; " and goes 
on to say, — 

" Some of the marks fastened on the blankets, shirts, and 
other gifts sent to the Sanitary Commission for the soldiers, 
showed the thought and feeling at home. Thus on a home- 
spun blanket, Avorn, but washed as clean as snow, was 
pinned a bit of paper, which said, ' This blanket was car- 
ried by Miles Aldrich (who is ninety-three years old), down 
hill and up hill, a mile and a half, to be given to some sol- 
dier.* 

" On a bed-quilt was pinned a card, saying, ' My son is 
in the army. Whoever is made warm by this quilt, which 
I have worked on for six days and the greater part of six 
nights, let him remember his own mother's love.' 

" On another blanket was this : ' This blanket was used 
by a soldier in the war of 1812. May it keep some soldier 
warm in this war against traitors ! ' 

" On a pillow was written, ' This pillow belonged to my 
little boy, who died resting on it. It is a precious treasure 
to me ; but I give it for the soldiers.' 



294 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND FEISON. 

" On a pair of woollen socks was written, ' These stock- 
ings were knit by a little girl five years old ; and she is going 
to knit some more, for mother says it will help some poor 
soldier.' 

" On a box of beautiful lint was this mark : ' Made in a 
sick-room, where the sunlight has not entered for nine years, 
but where God has entered, and where two sons have bid 
their mother goodrby as they have gone out to the war.' 

" On a bundle containing bandages was written, ' This is 
a poor gift ; but it is all I had. I have given my husband 
and my boy, and only wish I had more to give ; but I have 
not.' 

On some eye-shades was marked, ' Made by one who is 
blind. Oh, how I long to see the dear old flag you are all 
fighting under ! ' " 

Kindred to all these was this impromptu, by a lady of Sa- 
lem, Mass.,* now first published. It was placed on a pair 
of stockings for the army. 

" Go forth on thy mission, this work of my hand ; 
Make warm the cold feet that now shivering stand ; 
For they wander fx-om home and loved ones to-day : 
But tell the brave hearts that for them we pray ; 
That our work with our prayers shall follow them now. 
Till the wreath of the victor is placed on their brow ; 
That our Father will guide their feet from all harm, 
And shield by his love from danger and storm ; 
That he'll give the strong arm the strength of his might, 
And peace to the cause that is right in his sight." 



* Mrs. II. G. Farmer ("Mabelle"). 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 295 

The lady who thus helped to form the above links be- 
tween home and camp or hospital, was then, and is still, an 
invalid ; having been much of the time, for several years, 
confined to her room and bed. Yet she did enough for our 
sick and w^ounded soldiers to shame those in health who did 
nothing. She planned, and, by the efficient aid of her hus- 
band and many friends, conducted, a Fair in the city of Sa- 
lem, in 18G4, which brought her eight hundred dollars for 
the use of the soldiers. This sum was faithfully expended : a 
part of it was used to provide a library for Jefferson Bar- 
racks, Missouri, in response to a call from Mr. C. H. Tal- 
madge ; and three hundred dollars of it, at least, went to 
our soldiers through an agent of the Christian Commission, 
— E-ev. J. W. Dadmun. Such devotion to country cannot 
go unappreciated. Our soldiers were cheered by it, and her 
own heart was blessed. 

*' Carleton " WTote concerning the Fair, to the " Boston 
Journal," as follows : — 

" One of the many affecting incidents in connection with 
this enterprise is that of a little blind girl, wdio heard of 
what this lady had undertaken, and her sympathy was at 
once aroused. What could she do for the soldiers ? The 
active brain and tender heart soon found work for the will- 
ing hands. Various kind of bead and needle work were 
soon fashioned into forms of beauty by her delicate sense of 
touch. Her heart was in the work, and she did what she 
could. When the articles were finished, she gathered them 
up in her arms, and Avas led by two little girls to a house 



296 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

where the contributions were being collected ; and there she 
presented her gifts to the soldiers' Fair." 

The " New-Bedford Mercury" sends the following: — 

" Yesterday forenoon, a poor woman, earning but twenty- 
five cents a day by sewing, entered a grocery-store in the 
west part of the city, and paid for ten packages of corn- 
starch, to be sent to the City Hall, and thence to the sick 
and wounded soldiers of the army. ' Verily I say unto 
you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they 
which have cast into the treasury.' " 

That these self-denying ones did not give in vain, no 
candid mind can doubt. Through those noble charities, the 
Sanitary and Christian Commissions, those benefactions 
were honestly and liberally dispensed. Yet there were 
some opposed to the elder Commission, and undoubtedly 
without sufficient cause. 

It has been thought by some that the Christian Commis- 
sion was needed to care for the souls of the soldiers, because 
the Sanitary Commission " cared for none of these things.'* 
This is a mistake. Many of the agents and nurses be- 
longing to the Sanitary Commission were earnest and active 
Christians ; and the sick and wounded did not lack for 
friends in them, who would point them to " the Lamb of God, 
who taketh away the sins of the world." 

The following remarkable narration, having reference to 
a hospital visit, is from the "New-Bedford Mercury," and 
believed to be reliable in every particular : — 

" Elizabeth Comstock, a lady of English birth, and a 
resident of Michigan, is an eloquent preacher of the Society 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 297 

of Friends. For some years, she has devoted herself par- 
ticularly to visiting prisons and hospitals, and, with the self- 
denying spirit of a Fry or a Howard, has ministered to the 
miserable inmates. She was in attendance at the recent 
Yearly Meeting of Friends at Newport, and, at the close of 
it, was urged to visit Salem, and spend last First Day with 
Friends there. This invitation she declined, saying there 
were no hospitals or prisons there ; and to these was her mis- 
sion. Soon after, however, yielding to a strong impression 
upon her own mind that it was her duty, she announced that 
she would go to Salem. She attended Friends' meeting, and 
preached; her subject being 'the Value of Early Religious 
Training.' Illustrative of this, she narrated the following 
touching incident : — 

" Soon after the terrible battle of Fredericksburg, some 
year and a half since, she visited one of the hospitals in the 
vicinity of Washington, going from ward to ward, and from 
cot to cot, comforting and consoling the wounded sufferers. 
Upon one bed lay a young man, with eyes closed, and ap- 
parently insensible. The attendant remarked, that it would 
be useless to speak to him, as he had been constantly deliri- 
ous since his arrival, and had now relapsed into a death-like 
stupor. But the good lady, full of motherly, Christian sym- 
pathy, stopped by the bedside, and repeated Dr. Watts's 
hymn, in her sw^eet tones, — 

* Jesus can make a dying bed 
Feel soft as downy pillows are/ &c. 

"As she closed, the young man looked up with an intelli- 
gent smile, and, seeing a female form, said, 'I knew you 



298 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

would come, mother, and speak to me of Jesus.' By his 
side the good woman remained, we believe, till the spirit 
left him, catching his last accents on earth, ' Mother, I am 
going to Jesus.' 

"But the most remarkable part of our story is to come. 
As the meeting broke up, and the Friends were leaving, 
the preacher's attention was arrested by a female face in the 
throng ; and she remarked to a friend, ' That must be the 
mother of the young soldier of whom I spoke.' They met, 
the preacher and the mother ; and, upon comparing notes, 
the fact was established that it was the son of that mother 
to whom Elizabeth Comstock had ministered in his dying 
hour, and had thus brought to her the first knowledge of his 
death. Our readers can imagine the consolation thus given 
by the assurance, that, in his dying hour, the young soldier 
thought of his mother, and coupled her name with that of 
Jesus, whom she had taught him to revere. Who shall say 
that the Good Spirit did not lead Elizabeth Comstock out of 
her chosen path of labor to carry comfort to the heart of 
that Salem mother? " 

Volumes might be filled with incidents of thrilling interest 
which have occurred at our hospitals, both among the rebel 
as well as among the loyal soldiers. 

The loyal hearts at home deserve great credit for their effi- 
cient aid to the agents in the field. The great Sanitary Fairs 
of our large cities furnished thousands of dollars to carry on 
the work ; and, as we have seen, even children and invalids 
lent their little aid, made " mighty through God," to save their 
Country in her hour of peril. The benefactions of loyalists 



HOSPITAL-SCENES. 299 

are worthy of mention and remembrance, and make one proud 
of a country whose inhabitants are so liberal and benevo- 
lent. One of our religious papers thus sums up the money 
in various ways laid upon the altar of patriotism and human- 
ity : — 

''The total contributions from states, counties, and towns, 
for the aid and relief of soldiers, amounted, during the war, 
to $187,209,608.62. The contributions of associations and 
individuals for the care and comfort of soldiers were $24,- 
044,863.96 ; for sufferers abroad, $380,040.74 ; for sufferers 
by the riots of July, for freedmen and white refugees, 
$639,633.13 ; making a grand total, exclusive of expendi- 
tures of the Government, of $212,274,248.45." 

The Soldier's Friend, — To no single individual in our 
land, so far as private contributions and personal efforts are 
concerned, can the title of " The Soldier's Friend" be more 
appropriately given than to Count L. B. Schwabe, at the pre- 
sent time a resident of Boston, Mass. We have endeavored 
to obtain from him some facts with regard to his munificent 
charities during the past four years ; but he persistently re- 
fuses to parade his generous deeds before the public gaze. 
We are consequently obliged to give but a meagre account 
of one, who, though a native of a far-distant country (Ger- 
many.), and independent of any claims, which we, as a people, 
could make upon his generosity, has been one of the truest 
and most liberal friends which the officers and soldiers in 
our army have had during the late Eebellion. In a thou- 
sand ways, frequently untold and unknown, his generous 



300 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

bounty has found its way to some soldier or officer, some 
company or regiment, some camp or hospital, in some part 
of the land. We know that he now has in his possession 
thousands of letters of thanks and recommendations, which 
he has received from our most distinguished generals and 
the governors of States, but which he is not willing to make 
public. 

Count Schwabe is now creating a most magnificent me- 
morial of our heroic dead, — The National Gallery of 
Fallen Heroes ; in which work he is engaged with all the 
enthusiasm of his ardent nature and the resources of his 
generous purse. This gallery he designs shall be an endur- 
ing monument to the memory of the gallant men who have 
laid down their lives for their country. Several of the por- 
traits already completed were on exhibition at the Mechanics' 
Fair in Boston, and attracted universal attention for their 
excellence, and truthfulness to nature. These portraits are 
in oil, life-size, and from the hands of the best artists. They 
represent officers and men of all ranks in the army and 
navy, and from every loyal State. Secretary Stanton, who 
was present at the opening of the fair, spoke of them in the 
warmest manner, congratulated Count Schwabe on the suc- 
cess which has thus far attended his effiDrts to form such a 
gallery, and expressed his desire to be present at its inau- 
guration. 

The interesting theme is left with the pleasant thought, 
that, in the book of heavenly remembrance, no act of mercy, 
or deed of divine charity or loyal devotion, will be unre- 
corded. 



PRISO^'^-^ORRORS. 301 



CHAPTER Vn. 



PEISON-HORBOES. 

" In the prison cell I sit, 
Thinking, mother dear, of you, 
And our bright and happy home so far away; 
And the tears they fill my eyes, 
Spite of all that I can do. 
Though I try to cheer my comrades, and be gay. 
Chorus.— Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching: 
Cheer up, comrades ; they will come ; 
And beneath the starry flag 
We shall breathe the air again 
Of the free land in our own beloved home. 

In the battle front we stood 

When their fiercest charge they made. 

And they swept us off, a hundred men or more ; 
But before we reached their lines 
They were driven back dismayed, 

And we heard the cry of victory o'er and o'er. 
Chorus. — Tramp, tramp, tramp, &o. 

So, within the prison-cell, 
We are waiting for the day 
That shall open wide the iron door; 



302 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

And the hollow eye grows bright, 
And the poor heart almost gay, 
As we think of seeing home and friends once more. 

Chorus. — Tramp, tramp, tramp," &c. — Anonymous. 



© 



HIS popular song, which was first sung at the Cen- 
tennial celebration at Ashfield, June 21, 1865, has 
been sung in cot and hall, by road and fireside, with 
tearful eyes and aching hearts, because it pictured (alas ! too 
truly) the sulFerings of Union soldiers in rebel prisons, 
starving to death, but longing for liberty. 

It is a matter of profoundest mystery to all, except those 
who understand, in a measure, the baleful influence of slavery 
even upon the whites, how our " Southern brethren " could 
ever be so cruel to their prisoners of war. But the testi- 
mony is too strong to be denied ; and from nameless 
graves at the South, and graves at the North untimely filled, 
goes up to heaven the cry against the pitiless cruelty of 
Southern captors. The record of rebel atrocities is dark 
and damning. There is no language but that of Scripture 
to express the character of those who tortured their prison- 
ers unto death, following them with merciless hatred even 
unto the grave : they were truly " earthly, sensual, dev- 

The following extracts from the " Report of the Com- 
mittee appointed by the United-States Sanitary Commission 
to investigate the Treatment of Union Prisoners by the Re- 
bel Authorities " will unfold a horrible tale of barbarities, 
fit for the dark ages, with their blind superstitions, rather than 
for the nineteenth century, with its light and freedom : — 



PRISON-HORRORS. 303 

" In entering upon tlieir duties, the commissioners had no 
other wish than to ascertain the truth, and to report the 
facts as they were. For this they endeavored to collect all 
the evidence within their reach, and to hear and record 
all that could be said on every side of the subject. They 
were accompanied by a United-States commissioner ; and in 
every case the testimony was taken on oath or affirmation 
before him, or, in his absence, before other officers equally 
empowered. 

" Tlie commissioners, at the very outset, were brought 
face to face with the returned captives. They first visited 
the two extensive hospitals in Annapolis, occupying the 
spacious buildings and grounds of the Naval Academy and 
St. John's College, where over three thousand of them had 
been brought, in every conceivable form of suffering, direct 
from the Libby Prison, Belle Isle, and two or three other 
Southern military stations. They also visited the West's 
Buildings Hospital, and the Jarvis General Hospital in 
Baltimore, where several hundreds had been brought in an 
equally dreadful condition. 

" The photographs of these diseased and emaciated men, 
since so widely circulated, painful as they are, do not, in 
many respects, adequately represent the sufferers as they 
then appeared. 

" The first fact developed by the testimony of both officers 
and privates is, that prisoners were almost invariably robbed 
of every thing valuable in tlieir possession ; sometimes on 



804 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

tlie field, at the instant of capture ; sometimes by the prison 
authorities, in a ' quasi official way,' with the promise of 
return when exchanged or paroled, but which promise was 
never fulfilled. This robbery amounted often to a stripping 
of the person of even necessary clothing. Blankets and 
overcoats were almost always taken, and sometimes other 
articles ; in which case, damaged ones were returned in their 
stead. This preliminary over, the captives were taken to 
prison. 

" The Libby, which is best known, though also used as a 
place of confinement for private soldiers, is generally un- 
derstood to be the officers' prison. It is a row of brick 
buildings, three stories high, situated on the canal, and over- 
looking the James River ; and was formerly a tobacco 
warehouse. The partitions between the buildings have been 
pierced with doorways on each story. The rooms are one 
hundred feet long by forty feet broad. In six of these 
rooms, twelve hundred United-States officers of all grades, 
from the brigadier-general to the second lieutenant, were 
confined for many months ; and this was all the space that 
w^as allowed them in which to cook, eat, wash, sleep, and take 
exercise ! It seems incredible. Ten feet by two were all 
that could be claimed by each man, — hardly enough to 
measure his length upon ; and even this was further abridged 
by the room necessarily taken for cooking, washing, and 
clothes-drying. 

'' At one time, they were not allowed the use of benches, 
chairs, or stools ; nor even to fold their blankets, and sit upon 
them : but those who would rest were obliged to huddle on 



PRISON-HOEROnS. 305 

their haunches, as one of them expresses it, ' like so many 
slaves on the middle passage/ After a while, this severe 
restriction was removed, and they were allowed to make 
chairs and stools for themselves out of the barrels and boxes 
which they had received from the North. 

" They were overrun with vermin, in spite of every 
precaution and constant ablutions. Their blankets, which 
averaged one to a man, and sometimes less, had not been 
issued by the rebels, but had been procured in different 
ways, — sometimes by purchase, sometimes through the San- 
itary Commission. The prisoners had to help themselves 
from the refuse accumulation of these articles, which, having 
seen similar service before, were often ragged, and full of 
vermin. In these they wrapped themselves at night, and 
lay down on the hard plank-floor in close and stifling con- 
tact, — ' wormed and dovetailed together,' as one of them 
testifies, ' like fish in a basket.' The floors were recklessly 
washed late in the afternoon, and were therefore damp, and 
dangerous to sleep upon. Almost every one had a cough in 
consequence. 

" There were seventy-five windows in these rooms, all 
more or less broken ; and in winter the cold was intense. 
Two stoves in a room, with two or three armfuls of wood 
to each, did not prove sufficient, under this exposure, to keep 
them warm. 

" The regulations varied, at different periods, in stringency 
and severity ; and it is difficult to describe the precise con- 
dition of things at any one time ; but the above comes from 
two oflacers, Lieut.-Col. Farnsworth and Capt. Calhoun. 
20 



306 FIELD, CWNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

As it happens, they are representatives of the two opposite 
classes of officers confined in the Libby. The former, 
coming from Connecticut, and influentially connected at the 
North, was one of a mess to which a great profusion of 
supplies, and even luxuries, were sent. The latter, coming 
from Kentucky, and being differently situated, was entirely 
dependent upon the prison-fare. These officers were there 
during the same season, but never became acquainted. The 
accounts of each, found in the evidence side by side, are 
here combined, and run together. 

" From their statements, it appears that the hideous dis- 
comfort was never lessened by any variation in the rules, 
but often increased. The prison did not seem to be 
under any general and uniform army regulations ; but 
the captives were subject to the caprices of Major Turner, 
the officer in charge, and Richard Turner, inspector of the 
prison. 

" It was among the rules, that no one should go within 
three feet of the windows, — a rule which seems to be general 
in all Southern prisons of this character, and which their 
frequently crowded state rendered peculiarly severe, and 
difficult to observe. The manner in which the regulation 
was enforced was unjustifiably and wantonly cruel. Often 
by accident, or unconsciously, an officer would go near a 
window, and be instantly shot at without warning. The re- 
ports of the sentry's musket were heard almost every day ; 
and frequently a prisoner fell, either killed or wounded. It 
was even worse with a large prison near by, called the 
' Pemberton Buildings,' which was crowded with enlisted 



PRIfiON-IIORRORS. 307 

men. The firing into its windows was a still more common 
occmTence. The officers have heard as many as fourteen 
shots fired in a single day. They could see the guards 
watching an opportunity to fire ; and often, after one of 
them had discharged his musket, the sergeant of the guard 
would appear at the door, bringing out a dead or wounded 
soldier. 

" So careless as this were the authorities as to the effect 
of placing their prisoners in the power of the rude and 
brutal soldiery on guard. It became a matter of sport 
among the latter ' to shoot a Yankee.' They were seen in 
attitudes of expectation, with guns cocked, watching the 
windows for a shot. Sometimes they did not even wait for 
an infraction of the rule. Lieut. Hammond was shot at 
while in a small boarded enclosure, where there was no 
window, only an aperture between the boards. The guard 
caught sight of his hat through this opening, and aiming 
lower, so as to reach his heart, fired. A nail turned the 
bullet upward, and it passed through his ear and hat-brim. 
The officers reported the outrage to Major Turner, who 
merely replied, ' The boys are in want of practice.' The 
sentry said ' he had made a bet that he would kill a damned 
Yankee before he came off* guard.' No notice was taken of 
the occurrence by the authorities. The brutal fellow, en- 
couraged by this impunity, tried to murder another officer 
in the same way. Lieut. Huggins was standirig eight feet 
from the window, in the second story. The top of his hat 
was visible to the guard, who left his beat, went into the 
street, took deliberate aim, and fired. Providentially he 



308 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PEISON. 

was seen : a warning cry was uttered. Huggins stooped, 
and the bullet buried itself in the beams above. 

"Very much the same thing is mentioned as happening 
to the prison-buildings at Danville. A man was standing 
by the window, conversing with Private Wilcox : at his feet 
was the plac^ where he slept at night, close under the win- 
dow, and where his blanket lay rolled up. He had his hand 
on the casement. The guard must have seen his shadow, 
for he was invisible from the regular beat, and went out 
twenty feet to get a shot at him. Before the poor fellow 
could be warned, the bullet entered his forehead, and he fell 
dead at the feet of his companion. Almost every prisoner 
had such an incident to tell. Some had been shot at them- 
selves a number of times, and had seen others repeatedly 
fired upon. One testifies that he had seen five hundred men 
shot at. 

"The same brutal style of 'sporting,' while on guard, 
seems to have prevailed wherever the license was given by 
this cruel and unnecessary rule. Capt. Calhoun mentions, 
that while he and his companions were on their way to 
Kichmond from North-eastern Georgia, where they were 
captured, they stopped at Atlanta ; and, just before they 
started, a sick soldier, who was near the line beyond which 
the prisoners were not allowed to go, put his hand over to 
pluck a bunch of leaves that were not a foot from the 
boundary. The instant he did so, the guard caught sight of 
him, fired, and killed him. 

" Another instance of equal skill in ' shooting on the 
wing ' will be noticed in the case of the soldier who only 



PRISON-HORRORS. 309 

exposed his arm an instant in throwing out some water, and 
was wounded, fortunately not killed, by the rebel bullet. 
Something. of the same kind was related in the course of 
conversation, but is not in the evidence, as happening at the 
Libby, when an officer was shot while waving his hand in 
farewell to a departing comrade. 

" But there were cruelties worse than these, because less 
the result of impulse and recklessness, and because de- 
liberately done. There opens now a part of the narrative 
which is as amazing as it is unaccountable. The reader 
will turn to the heart-rending scenes of famine which the 
testimony before the Commission has exposed. 

" The daily ration in the officers' quarter of Libby 
Prison was a small loaf of bread, about the size of a man's 
fist, made of Indian-meal. Sometimes it was made from 
wheat-flour, but of variable quality. It weighed a little over 
half a pound : with it was given a piece of beef weighing two 
ounces. But it is not easy to describe this ration, it was so 
irregular in kind, quality, and amount. Its general charac- 
ter is vividly indicated by a remark made in conversation 
by one of the officers. ' I would gladly,' said he with em- 
phatic sincerity, — ' gladly have preferred the horse-feed in 
my father's stable.' 

" During the summer and early part of the fall, the 
ration seems to have been less insufficient, and less repul- 
sive, than it afterwards became. At no period was it enough 
to support life, at least in health, for a length of time ; but, 
however inadequate, it was not so to such a remarkable 
degree as to produce the evils which afterward ensued. 



310 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" It Avas about the middle of last autumn that this process 
of slow starvation became intolerable, injurious, and cruel 
to the extent referred to. The corn-bread began to be of 
the roughest and coarsest description. Portions of the cob 
and husk were often found ground in with the meal. The 
crust was so thick and hard, that the prisoners called it ' iron- 
clad.' To render the bread eatable, they grated it, and 
made mush out of it ; but the crust they could not grate. 
Now and then, after long intervals, often of many weeks, a 
little meat was given them, perhaps two or three mouthfuls. 
At a later period, they received a pint of black peas, with 
some vinegar, every week : the peas were often full of 
worms, or maggots, in a chrysalis state, which, when ihey 
made soup, floated on the surface. 

" Those who were entirely dependent on the prison-fare, 
and had no friends at the North to send them boxes of food, 
began to suffer the horrible agony of craving food, and 
feeling themselves day by day losing strength. Dreams 
and delusions began to distract their minds. Although 
many were relieved through the generosity of their more 
favored fellow-prisoners, yet the supply from this source 
was, of course, inadequate. Capt. Calhoun speaks of 
suffering 'a burning sensation on the inside, with a 
general failure in strength. I grew so foolish in my 
mind, that I used to blame myself for not eating more 
when at home. The subject of food engrossed my entire 
thoughts.' 

" Capt. Stevens, having received a box from home, sat 
down and ate to excess, and died a few hours afterward. 



PRISON-JIOERORS. 311 

' A man had a piece of ham, which I looked at for hours, 
and would have stolen if I had had a chance.' 

" One day, by pulling up a plank in the floor, they gained 
access to the cellar, and found there an abundance of pro- 
visions, — barrels of the finest wheat-flour, potatoes, and 
turnips. Of these they ate ravenously, until the theft was 
discovered. 

"But the most unaccountable and shameful act of all was 
yet to come. Shortly after this general diminution of rations, 
in the month of January last, the boxes, which before had 
been regularly delivered and in good order, were withheld. 
No reason was given. Three hundred arrived every week, 
and were received by Col. Oiild, commissioner of exchange ; 
but, instead of being distributed, they were retained, and piled 
up in warehouses near by, and in full sight of the tantalized 
and hungry captives. Three thousand were there when 
Lieut.-Col. Farnsworth came away. There was some show 
of delivery, however, but in a manner especially heartless. 
Five or six of the boxes were given during the week. The 
eager prisoner, expectant perhaps of a wife's or mother's 
thoughtful provision for him, w^as called to the door, and 
ordered to spread his blanket, when the open cans, whether 
containing preserved fruits, condensed milk, tobacco, vege- 
tables, or meats, were thrown promiscuously together, and 
often ruined by the mingling. 

" It is stated that for oiFences, whether trivial or serious, 
the prisoners were consigned to cells beneath the prison, the 
walls of which were damp, green, and slimy. These apart- 
ments were never warmed, and often so crowded, that 



312 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

some were obliged to stand up all night. It was in these 
dungeons that the hostages were placed." 

Well might the poet*s lyre give forth most sad and plaintive 
notes at the knowledge of such barbarity. Our brave boys 
died by scores and hundreds ; but, alas ! — 

" Not on the battle-field 
Did they their brave lives yield, 

In gallant onslaught 'gainst a treacherous foe ; 
But slowly, day by day, 
Their warm blood oozed away 

In lingering agonies but God may know ! "* 

The horrors of Libby Prison were duplicated at Aaderson- 
ville. The following is the evidence of Dr. John C. Bates, a 
contract-surgeon employed by the rebels in the Andersonville 
Hospital, given on the trial of Wirz, the rebel prison- 
keeper : — 

" I was ordered to report to J. H. White, the surgeon in 
charge ; but, hearing he was injured by a railroad accident, I 
reported to R. A. Stevenson. On going into ward fifteen 
of the hospital, I saw a number of men, and was rather 
shocked. Many of them were lying partially naked, dirty, 
and lousy in the sand ; others were crowded together in 
small tents, the latter unserviceable at the best. I exam- 
ined all who were placed in my charge. On further inves- 
tigation of matters, to make myself acquainted with the 
mode of doing business, the disagreeable feeling at first 
made on me wore off more or less, as I was becoming more 

* Miss L. L. A. Very. 



PmSON-HOEEOMS. 313 

familiar with the effect of misery. I inquired into the ra- 
tions, and talked about them. I felt disposed to do my duty, 
and aid all the sufferers I could. They frequently asked me 
for a teaspoonful of salt, or for orders for a little sifting that 
came out of meal, as they wanted to make some bread. If 
I found something better than siftings, I ordered it. I spent 
considerable of my time in writing orders. The meat ra- 
tion was cooked in a different part of the hospital. The men 
would gather round me, and ask for a bone. Of clothing we 
had none : the living were supplied with the clothing of 
those who died. There was a prolific crop of vermin and 
lice. I understand the term ' lousy ' from prison-experience. 
On retiring from the hospital, I examined myself. It was 
impossible for a surgeon to leave there without bringing some 
with him. As to medical attendance, I found the men desti- 
tute ; and of clothing, bedding, and fuel, there was only a par- 
tial supply. As the officer of the day, sliortly after I arrived 
there, I was in supreme command ; and it was my business 
to rectify any thing wrong. I found the men, as a general 
thing, destitute, partly naked, sick, and diseased. Their dis- 
position only was to get something to eat. They asked me for 
orders for potatoes, biscuit, siftings of meal, and other things. 
The following morning, I sat down, and made a report on the 
condition of things I found at the hospital. The report was 
sent up. Being a novice, for some of the things I said, I 
received a written reprimand, signed by Dr. Dillard for 
Dr. R. A. Stevenson. Medicines being scarce, I gathered 
up a large quantity of what were the best attainable, — anti- 
scorbutic, as well as to soothe the alimentary canal, and to 



314 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

cure complaints of gangrene. I think the reports were not 
heeded. My attention was called to a patient in my ward 
who was only fifteen or sixteen years of age. I took much in- 
terest in him, owing to his youth. He would ask me to bring 
him a potato, bread, or biscuit, which I did. I put them in my 
pocket. He had the scurvy and gangrene. I advised him 
not to cook the potato, but to eat it raw. He became more 
and more emaciated, his sores gangrened ; and for want of 
food, and from lice, he died. I understood that it was against 
orders to take any thing in to the prisoners ; and hence I was 
shy in slipping food into my pockets. Others in the ward 
came to their deaths from the same causes. When I went 
there, there were two thousand or two thousand five hundred 
sick. I judge twenty or twenty-five thousand persons 
were crowded together. Some had made holes and bur- 
rows in the earth : those under the sheds were doing 
comparatively well. I saw but little shelter, excepting what 
ingenuity had devised. I found them suffering with scurvy, 
dropsy, diarrhoea, gangrene, pneumonia, and other diseases. 
When prisoners died, they were laid in wagons, head-fore- 
most, to be carried off. I don't know how they were buried. 
The effluvia from the hospital was very offensive. If by ac- 
cident my hand were abraded, I would not go into the hos- 
pital without putting a plaster over the affected part. If 
persons whose systems were reduced by inanition should 
perchance stump a toe, or scratch the hand, the next report 
to me was gangrene, so potent was the regular hospital gan- 
grene. The prisoners were more thickly confined in the 
stockade, like ants and bees. The dogs referred to were to 



PRISON-HORRORS. 315 

hunt the prisoners who escaped. Fifty per cent of those 
who died might have been saved. I feel safe in say- 
ing seventy-five might have been saved, had the patients been 
properly cared for. Tlie effect of the treatment of the pris- 
oners was morally as well as physically injurious. There was 
much stealing among them. All lived each for himself. I 
suppose this was superinduced by their starving condition. 
Seeing the dying condition of some of them, I remarked to 
my student, ' I can't resuscitate them ; the weather is chill- 
ing : it is a matter of impossibility.' I found persons lying 

i dead sometimes among the living: thinking they merely 
slept, I went to wake them up, and found they had taken 

I their everlasting sleep. This was in the hospital. I judge 
it was about the same in the stockade. There being no 
dead-house, I erected a tent for that purpose : but I soon 
found that a blanket or quilt had been clipped off of the 
canvas ; and, as the material could not be readily supplied 
for repairs, the dead-house had to be abandoned. I don't 
think any more dead-houses were erected. The daily ration 
was less in September, October, November, and December, 
than it was from the 1st of January to the 20th of March. 
The men had not over twenty ounces of food for twenty-four 
hours." 

Of course, there were sometimes gleams of sunlight in 
those dreary prison-cells ; but the hours of brightness were 
" few, and far between," while the night of horror generally 
settled down upon the occupants, — a night of dense, star- 
less, rayless obscurity, — a darkness which, like that of 
Egypt, could be felt. 



316 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

A member of an Illinois veteran battalion* was cap- 
tured, with three hundred and seventy others, by the rebels, 
and taken to Andersonville, but, after some months of im- 
prisonment, escaped. From his own account, published in 
the " Woodstock Sentinel," the following is taken : — 

" We were then turned over to the Alabama State troops, 
and marched across the country to Columbus, some thirty 
miles, and treated more like brutes than human beings. If 
a man became tired, and began to straggle, or stop for a 
drink of water, they would take out their revolvers, and 
threaten to shoot us ; and at night they camped us where 
we could get neither water nor wood. We arrived at Colum- 
bus, Oct. 10, and, the next morning, took the cars for Ander- 
sonville. While at Columbus, we found a paper, in which 
notice was given that there would be eight thousand Union 
soldiers in that day ; and, when we (three hundred and 
seventy men) marched into town, they asked where the 
eight thousand were. We told them that they had gone the 
other way ; and that Sherman had taken them, instead of 
Hood. 

" There we bought a pail of water, for which we paid 
fifty cents : and while some eight or ten were standing 
about it, drinking, the officers rode up, and ordered us away; 
but, as we did not move quite quick enough to suit them, oue 
fired his pistol among us. Fortunately no one was hurt. 
Oct. 11, we arrived at Andersonville. After taking our 
names, searching us closely, and taking our knapsacks from 

* Frank E. Haiiaford, of Woodstock. 



PRISON-HORRORS. 317 

us (fortunately we had but little money for them, as we had 
not been paid for a long time), we were counted into squads 
of a hundred, and turned into the bull-pen, where we re- 
mained just one month ; and good Lord deliver me from 
ever getting in such a place again ! I have heard and 
read of the horrors of a prison-life ; but I never could be- 
lieve from another one-half of what I have seen. I saw 
many there who seemed lost to all reason ; and I have seen 
men lay there in the sand, and die, and others begging to be 
shot to end their misery, with no one to help them in the 
least. Oh ! I saw far more suffering there than I ever saw 
on the battle-field. From the last of March, 1864, to Sep- 
tember, there were fifteen thousand men died at Ander- 
sonville, as I had it from those who were there, and kept 
account of the dead that were carried out each day. 

" There was a gang there called the Raiders, who, when 
they saw a prisoner come in with any thing they wanted, 
would kill and rob him. Finally the rebel officers refused 
to serve any more rations until there was a stop put to it. 
Then the prisoners took a lot of them, organized a court- 
martial, tried them, and sentenced five to be hung. A gal- 
lows was erected in the centre of the prison, and they were 
launched into eternity. This put a stop to it in a measure." 

The narrative of Lieut. Ilanaford's escape is of such in- 
terest, that the closing portion of it is here given. He, with 
four others, started from a place in Georgia, about twelve 
miles from Thomasville, where the cars which contained 
prisoners were detained in the woods, because the locomo- 
tive gave out. He says, — 



318 



FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



"We threw our blankets over our shoulders, and walked 
boldly out through the guard-lines, though trembling with fear. 
We ate our supper just before we started, and took with us 
one quart of meal, one quart of beans, an old tin pail, and a 
gourd, for five of us. This was on the night of the 11th 
of December. We found no place where we dare make a 
fire to cook any thing, until the third night after we started ; 
consequently we fasted until then. We happened to have 
one prairie-match with us, with which we struck a fire. 
There is seldom a match to be found there. On the fourth 
night, we Avere compelled to go in search of fire and food. 
As good luck would have it, we came to a house where they 
had had a fire outside during the day ; and there we found 
an iron kettle without a bail. We hunted around, and 
found a rope, and put through the ears ; then scraped up some 
coals from their fire, and put them in the kettle, which two 
of us took on a pole ; and in that we did our cooking by day, 
and carried our fire by night, never losing it but twice on 
our journey. Then the way we got it once, we went to a 
man's house in the night, and told them we had a team 
broke down, and wanted to get a light to see to mend it up : 
so the good woman gave us a torch-light ; and then, when 
we had searched the potato-hole and chicken-roost, we were 
all right. Twice we were hunted by blood-hounds ; but a 
kind Providence delivered us from them. While in prison, 
we procured a map from which we drew a sketch of the 
southern part of Georgia ; and this, with the stars, was our 
only guide. We used all the caution possible ; never spoke 
to a person on our way, except when we called for the light ; 



PRISON-HORRORS. 319 

never allowed ourselves to speak above a whisper, or step 
on the ties, when Avalking on the railroad. 

" After travelling about two hundred miles by land, we 
came to St. Mary's River, where we found two small boats, 
which we confiscated ; broke open a blacksmith-shop near 
by, and found the oars, and some other things of use, which 
we confiscated also : but on the river, as well as the land, 
we were obliged to travel by night, and hide in the woods 
and swamps by day, and rob potato-holes, hen-roosts, bee- 
hives, &c., for our subsistence, and drag our boats into the 
woods and swamps with us every morning. After we took 
to the river, we were rather short of provisions ; and what 
we got we had to go back some four or six miles in the 
country for (in the night at that), as most of the plantations 
on the river were deserted as far up as our gunboats 
went. 

" While on the river, we suffered a great deal from cold, 
as we were poorly clothed ; and some nights we Avere obliged 
to lay by on that account. On the night of Jan. 31, we 
went ashore, on account of cold, in what proved to be the 
town of St. Mary, twelve miles from Fort Clinch ; found an 
unoccupied house, procured fuel, went in, closed the doors, 
and made a fire in the fireplace. After getting well warmed, 
went out to get something to eat ; but there was nothing to 
be found. The whole town was unoccupied ; we were the 
only inhabitants : so we went back to our fires, and staid 
there until morning, and concluded we would lay by that 
day, and go back far enough to get something to eat, as we 
had been living on half-rations some two or three days. We 



320 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

started out, and had not gone far, when I chanced to find a 
spy-glass. Oh, what a treasure it proved to us ! It was 
truly a God-send to me. We knew we had travelled a long 
distance, and were footsore and weary, our shoes nearly 
worn out, but supposed we had still many miles to travel. 
I raised the glass to my eye, looked southward, and saw a 
flag waving. The glass was not very clear, and I could not 
tell whether it was our flag at first, or not. I looked again : 
truly it was our flag. Words cannot describe the joy I felt 
when I beheld once more that glorious old banner floating 
in the breeze from Fort Clinch. We then took our boats, 
and started ; and I doubt if ever men worked with a better 
will than we, or if ever a boat cut through the water faster 
than ours by a single pair of oars. In less than two hours, 
we were within our lines, at Fernandina, Fla., having 
travelled about two hundred and eighty miles in twenty-three 
days." 

A Detroit paper thus speaks of one who was starved to 
death by the rebels : — 

"There died in this city on Tuesday, of starvation, a man 
named Edgar B. Trumbull. We relate his story as told 
just before his death. He belonged to the first cavalry, was 
taken prisoner at the same time as the lamented Brodhead, 
and was sent, along with five thousand others, to Belle Isle, 
N.C., where they were confined in a space about as large 
as two ordinary city-lots. All the food allowed them was 
five ounces each of musty bread per day, to be washed down 
with an equal proportion of miserable water. Under this 
kind of treatment, his one hundred and eighty pounds of 



PRISON-HORRORS. 321 

flesh wasted away to seventy-five pounds of skin and bones, 
when he was exchanged. By taking large potions of whiskey 
and quinine, he succeeded in keeping body and soul to- 
gether until he reached this city, where he died in a few 
hours," 

Since the close of the war, successful efforts have been 
made to bury properly the victims of the rebels in Ander- 
sonville. The following, from the '' Springfield Republi- 
can," concerning prison-horrors, is appropriate in this chap- 
ter. We cannot wonder that our brave men died there. 

" The sad duty of recovering and interring the remains 
of .the poor fellows who died or were killed at the Ander- 
sonville prison-pen by rebel starvation and barbarity has 
been completed. Capt. James M. Moore, to whom the 
work was intrusted, has returned to Washington, and re- 
ports that he has buried, and designated the graves by head- 
boards, — on which were painted the name, company, and 
regiment of the deceased, — about thirteen thousand Union 
soldiers. The dead were usually buried in trenches, each 
trench containing about one hundred. The cemetery, which 
comprises in all about fifty acres, is situated about three 
hundred yards from the prison stockade. A neat white fence 
has been erected around it, and an abundance of trees have 
been planted to shade the graves of those who would 
have been more than thankful for a bit of shade when con- 
fined in the prison -pen. By means of a stake at the 
head of each grave, as made by the rebels, which bore a 
number corresponding with a similar numbered name upon 
the Andersonville hospital -recbrds, the bodies of all but 

21 



322 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

about five hundred of our prisoners were recognized, and 
proper headstones placed above their remains in the new 
cemetery. 

" Capt. Moore found the prison-pen in a perfect state of 
preservation, just as it was left by the rebels ; and even the 
dead-line could be plainly seen. Near the enclosure also 
were the dog-kennels, where the blood-hounds were kept 
that were used to hunt up those prisoners who had made 
their escape. The inhabitants in the vicinity call the place 
the most unhealthy in all Georgia ; and indeed there is but 
one house in Andersonville proper. One of Capt. Moore's 
party died of the fever before they could complete their work 
and get away. Andersonville at present is guarded by a 
small force of Federal soldiers ; and a superintendent is left 
in care of the buildings and grounds, who will see that 
every thing that pertains to the place is carefully preserved. 
Miss Clara Barton returns with Capt. Moore ; and the 
whole party deserve great credit for the way in which they 
have performed their delicate and arduous duties." 

Miss Barton, the annalist of our Union martyrs, said at 
that time, — 

" Two hundred and seventy-six bodies were recovered yes- 
terday from the ground known as outside of the ' dead-line,' 
or, as it was generally known to the public, outside of a 
prohibited line, beyond which they had accidentally strayed 
for the purpose of procuring a little fresh water, or the roots 
of shrubs or trees, to allay the pangs of thirst and hunger, 
and for so doing were barbarously murdered." 

Much more might be adduced to show that the treatment 



PRISON-HORRORS. 323 

of prisoners aud of Union men by the rebels was such as to 
call down upon the authors and perpetrators of such cruel 
wrongs the obloquy of the world, and that vengeance of 
Heaven which aways follows the violated laws of justice 
and humanity. 

The Sanitary Commission's report concerning the suffer- 
ings and privations of United-States officers and soldiers, 
and a volume entitled "Atrocities of the Rebellion," by a 
Southern Unionist, who barely escaped with his life, con- 
tain proof enough to blacken the pages of Southern history, 
so that no partial historian. can ever bleach or whitewash it. 
To use the language of the author of the latter volume, in 
his preface, " It may be said that the atrocities recorded in 
this book are isolated and extreme cases, and do not present 
a fair view of tlie matter. Would that this Avere true ! But 
so far is this from being true, that the picture is altogether 
too faint. The atrocities related are only specimens ; mere 
selections from an immense mass of hideous deeds of bar- 
barism. Were the whole to be recorded, the mind Vv^ould 
tire of and recoil from the recital ; were the whole to be 
recorded, volumes would be required. Barbarism has 
characterized the Rebellion from the beginning to the present 
hour in every state and county and town and village and 
hamlet. It originated in barbarism ; has been prosecuted 
with barbarism ; and may its overthrow be the overthrow 
of barbarism, and give place to a higher civilization and a 
purer Christianity ! " 

The loyal heart beats sadly over the record of these in- 
famous deeds, and remembers with pain the horrors of 



324 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

guerilla warfare, the atrocious attack on sleeping and de- 
fenceless men in Kansas, and all the many acts of diabolical 
barbarity ; and mourns, as well it may, 

" Man's inhumanity to man." 

Alas ! the chariot-wheels of moral progress seem to have 
been greatly retarded in this age of unparalleled intellectual 
advancement ; the inhabitants of a nominally Christian land 
thus " crucifying the Son of God afresh," and putting him 
to an open shame. Can the broken-hearted ones, who sigh 
for the absent whom angels released from the prison-hor- 
rors of the South, lift toward heaven, with tearful eyes, 
but forgiving hearts, a petition in the spirit of Him who 
prayed on cross-crowned Calvary, " Father, forgive them : 
they know not what they do"? It may be so, but only 
when they hear rumbling along the heavens, and then burst- 
ing in thunder-tones upon their ears, the assurance, " Ven- 
geance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord ; " or when, in 
the stillness of that hour of spirit-communion with God, 
when the soul has truly " fellowship with the Father and 
with his Son Jesus Christ," they hear the whisper of Im- 
manuel, " Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven." 

As we peruse these records of battle and prison horrors, 
how blessed the thought that the promised day sliall come, 
when "the sword shall be beaten into the plough-share, and 
the spear into the pruning-hook, and the nations shall learn 
war no more " ! 

" Fly swiftly round, ye wheels of time, 
And bring the welcome day ! '* 



CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 325 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 

** Am I a soldier of the cross, 
A follower of the Lamb ? 
And shall I fear to own his cause, 
Or blush to speak his name ? " 

^"jy HE profession of arms is not necessarily one antago- 
(CJ ) ^^^^^^ ^^ *^^ possession of a Christ-like spirit, or the 
practice of Christian virtues. England had her 
" Havelock and his saints " to prove this ; and America has 
had her scores and hundreds who have been valiant soldiers 
in the Union army and navy, and, at the same time, faith- 
ful servants of Christ Jesus. Above the radiant banner of 
their beloved land, they have seen the sacred splendors of the 
cross of Christ. No temptation of the camp, no privation 
or suffering in the hospital, no scene of reckless carnage 
on the battle-field or loathsome horror in the prison-cell, 
has been sufficient to cause their trust in God to waver, or 
the light of their faith in Christ and immortality to flicker in 
the gloom of doubt, or die out in the darkness of despair. 
The promise, " My grace is sufficient," has been graciously 
fulfilled to the soldiers of Christ and Liberty ; and the 
weary, feeble, wounded, suffering, dying soldier has been 



326 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

able to say, " I can do all tilings through Christ which 
strengtheneth me." 

In the present chapter, it is designed to present some 
examples of faith and Christian effort as evinced by men in 
the Union army and navy. The first is from the interesting 
pages of Prof. Hackett's memorial volume : — 

" Among the men at the New-England Rooms, in New 
York (says a visitor to that place), is one from Michigan. 
He was shot in the head at Malvern Hill, and the optic 
nerve was carried away ; so that he has become stone-blind. 
He is now well, in his general health ; but will never see 
again. He is one of the happiest men in the land. He 
is a person of cheerful, but open and decided piety. ' Happy 
as the^day is long ' has its literal and expressive meaning as 
applied to him. It is delightful to listen to him as he 
speaks of what he did for the old flag while he could see, 
and still more to observe how he strives to be useful still, 
since his injury, in such wRys as he can. He feels his way 
from couch to couch ; drops, as he moves along, fitting 
words of sympathy and counsel ; cheers up the despondent ; 
and makes the heart glad. Those connected with the rooms 
assure me (says this visitor) that the tone of his happy speech 
and pious resignation impress all who have an opportunity 
to see and hear him." 

The lamented Admiral Foote was a man of the Have- 
lock stamp. Prof. Hackett says of him, "Hardly any one 
has appeared on the stage of action during the war more 
distinguished for the highest qualities of the patriot, hero, 
and Christian, than Admiral Foote." 



CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 327 

Another anecdote in point, from the " Memorials," is 
entitled " Last Interview of the Heroes," and is as fol- 
lows : — 

"While at Gettysburg (says a visitor to that place), I 
learned the following incident .from the lips of Prof. Stoever : 
' At the close of the bloody battles of the 2d and 3d of July, 
while thousands of the soldiers were lying wounded side by 
side, and before even the officers could seek out and speak 
to their bleeding and dying friends, the command came to 
pursue the flying Confederates. Major-Gen. Howard, at the 
head of the eleventh army corps (who has been called the 
Havelock of the American army), hastened to the bedside 
of Capt. GrifFeth of his staff, between whom and the general 
a strong personal attachment existed, to take his last fare- 
well. He closed the door ; and, after a brief interchange of 
sympathies, the general took his New Testament, and read 
to him the fourteenth chapter of John. The consolatory 
words have been often heard at the bed of the dying, giving 
strength to the soul for the last conflict. " Let not your heart 
be troubled : ye believe in God ; believe also in me. In my 
Father's house are many mansions : if it were not so, I 
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you : and, 
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, 
and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye 
may be also." 

" ' The general then knelt in prayer, and commended his 
wounded friend to the compassionate God and Father of all 
those who trust in him, and, rising from his knees, clasped 
him in one long, fond, weeping embrace. Thus parted the 



328 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

heroes. One went to pursue the rebels against his Govern- 
ment : the other died in a few days in perfect peace, cor- 
dially acquiescing in God's will, and firmly relying on the 
merits of his Saviour.' " 

The following anecdote is from the same volume, all 
whose pages demonstrate the value of the lives and ser- 
vices of those who have been soldiers of Liberty in our 
land : — 

" When Col. Herman Canfield was wounded at the battle 
of Pittsburg Landing, knowing that his wound would be 
fatal, he expressed a wish to his young brother-in-law that 
he might be taken to his home and family. But, as the bat- 
tle raged, the enemy pressed upon them ; so that they were 
in momentary fear of being made prisoners. The surgeon, 
chaplain, and others who Avere looking after the wounded, 
were taken and borne away. Strange as it may appear, the 
two relatives were left unmolested. Alone, and in such a 
condition, the moment was one of anxiety and of trial to 
them both. His brother-in-law was not able, without aid, 
to convey him to a place of safety ; and he expressed a fear 
that he should not be able to comply with his request. To 
this apprehension the colonel calmly replied, ' Never mind, 
Charley : Jesus will take me home.' 

" Oh ! what child-like trust, what Christian faith, is there 
expressed ! Plaving lived near to God, and long trusted in 
his sure promises, he had no doubts now. He knew that 
the Lord of hosts was present on the battle-field as well as 
in the peaceful home. As he lay there, with his life-blood 
ebbing from a ghastly wound in his lungs, he testified of 



CnmSTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 329 

the goodness of God, and showed with what fearlessness a 
Christian may yield his soul to Him who gave it. 

" At last assistance arrived, and the wounded man was 
borne on a stretcher through low, marshy defiles, and over 
rough, pathless woodland, toward the Tennessee. At night, 
they encamped upon its bank. It was the last night he 
passed upon earth : a dark and fearful one it was to his 
companions. A storm raged about them : the very elements 
seemed pouring forth their sad requiems for the dying and 
the dead. During the vivid flashes of lightning, they had 
glimpses of the agonized features of their loved commander. 
And many were their anxious inquiries ; but he assured 
them, that, though his physical sufferings were great, his 
soul was at peace with God, and he knew he soon would be at 
rest. Doubtless he caught glimpses of that brighter world, 
where darkness and death cannot enter, because God is the 
light and life thereof. What that brave soldier and Chris- 
tian suffered during that night of agony, none but God can 
know. He did not murmur at his fate, and thought not his 
life too great a sacrifice for the cause in which he fell. 

" The following day he was removed to a hospital-ship, 
where his wounds were carefully dressed ; but he gradually 
grew weaker, until evening, when, leaving tender messages 
for his loved wife and children, he calmly committed his 
soul to God, and Jesus took him home." 

The following digest of letters contributed by H. C. 
Gannett to the '' United-Service Magazine " for October, 
1863, shows the state of religious feeling and effort in the 
navy : ■ — 



330 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

United-States Steamer " South-Carolina." 
We hold service on board Sundays ; and I am happy 
to state that many of our ship's company appear inclined to 
serve God. I have also set apart for the service of God a 
portion of Tuesday and Friday evenings, and hope we shall 
be rewarded with the grace and love of God. Remember 
this ship's company in your prayers. Trusting in the Al- 
mighty Father, who alone rules the universe, and spreads 

out the seas, I remain yours, 

J. W. Magune. 

United-States Steamer " Sonoma." 
Some of our men seem neither to fear God nor man ; 
and do not like us much, because we read the Testament 
and Psalms on deck. Our profession, and rebuke of swear- 
ing, cause talk about the ship ; but I care not. I feel more 
determined than ever to serve my God and King. There 
are several religious men on the vessel besides myself. 

William T. Walcott. 

United-States Steamer " Genesee." 
In trying to follow in the footsteps of our blessed Re- 
deemer, we get along with the crew nicely. The books and 
tracts which you gave us have been distributed freely among 
the crew, all of whom seem to read with interest the printed 
truths they contain. Our prayer to God is that those Avho 
read may be benefited thereby. We go on deck with our 
Bibles ; and, to all who would like to listen to the reading of 
it, we give an earnest iuvitation to join us. Some are 
pleased to listen, while others laugh and scoff. We are not 



CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 331 

cast down, neither are we discouraged : for the Lord he is 
our God ; in him do we trust. 

G. W. Marston. 

Simple and unpretending as these records are, they 
show an amount of religious feeling which it is pleasant 
to know existed among our brave sailor-boys. Nor, 
as we have seen, were their officers deficient in genuine 
piety. Another anecdote of one akeady mentioned may 
illustrate this : — ^ 

" It has been mentioned, as characteristic of Commodore 
Foote, that he prayed as if every thing depended on God, 
and fought as if every thing depended on man. On a cer- 
tain occasion, says the correspondent of a St. Louis paper, 
the commodore was present at a meeting on the Sabbath, 
shortly after one of his signal victories, when the minister 
of the church failed to appear, and the audience was kept 
waiting for the opening of the service. It seemed as if the 
opportunity for instruction and worship would be lost. The 
elder of the church was unwilling to officiate. Under these 
circumstances, Commodore Foote, on the impulse of the 
moment, went up to the pulpit, read a chapter in the Bible, 
prayed, and delivered a short discourse from the text, ' Let 
not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God ; believe 
also in me.' It was unexpected to the people ; nor was their 
wonder less when they saw his self-possession, his readiness, 
and the pertinence of his remarks. He seemed to be as 
much at home in the pulpit as he was on the deck of the 
' Cincinnati ' during the bombardment of Fort Henry. The 



332 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

audience were miicli affected at hearing the voice from which 
so lately rang out the word of command 

'In worst extreme, and on the perilous edge 
Of battle when it raged/ 

lifted up in humble acknowledgment to Heaven for the recent 
victory, and in earnest supplication for protection and suc- 
cess in days to come. Some of his own soldiers were among 
the hearers. They were expecting to be called to go into 
battle again at any moment. Tiiey could have heard noth- 
ing from any one better fitted to tranquillize their minds, and 
nerve them for the conflict. 

" On coming down from the pulpit, the minister, who had 
arrived just after the prayer, approached, and tendered his 
thanks ; but the commodore rebuked him for his tardiness, 
and also for his neglect to take the pulpit immediately on his 
arrival." 

Prof. Hackett also says, "Commodore Foote, the pray- 
ing commodore, as he has been truthfully called, acted often 
as his own chaplain. The following sketch of the services 
on his flatboat, on a certain Sunday, was given in a letter 
from the Mississippi fleet. It affords another proof of the 
anxiety of this noble man for the spiritual welfare of those 
who served under him, and of his conviction that he would 
have better soldiers in them, if he could lead them to honor 
God, and trust in him. 

" ' The sailors, clad in their clean, plain blue uniforms, 
congregated on the forward port-side. We look around us, 
and a scene presents itself very different from the ordinary 
employment of warlike men. Here, in line on the star- 



CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NAVY. 333 

board, we see the marines drawn up in line, as at ease, with 
their muskets and fixed bayonets resting on their left shoul- 
der. In the foreground is the capstan, covered with the 
" Union Jack," its blue field and white stars adorning the 
patriotic pulpit. Around it stand Flag-ofiicer Foote, Lieut. 
Phelps, Col. Buford, and other officers. As the flag-officer 
approaches, he is saluted by all hands, who stand with un- 
covered heads. The gay, glittering, showy uniforms of the 
officers are in striking contrast with the plain garb of the 
seamen and marines. The flag-officer, in a few brief and 
eloquent remarks, reminds us that this is the Sabbath, — 
the day set apart for rest, and the worship of the Most High. 
It is the first religious service, we are told, held on this flag- 
ship, because, on the last Sabbath, we could not perform it, 
owing to an engagement with the enemy, which could not be 
avoided. 

" 'In the course of his address, he urged us to bear in 
mind our duty, to be prepared to meet our Maker ; and hoped 
that all, officers and men, would refrain from intemperance, 
profanity, every immoral practice, and be ready to give their 
account to God, let the summons come when and as it might. 
He also offered up a prayer from the Episcopal service. The 
services were impressive and interesting. While Flag-officer 
Foote was praying, "Our Father who art in heaven," the 
report, and zip, zip, zip, of shot or shell from the enemy's 
guns, could be distinctly heard by all present. The flag- 
officer was calm and unmoved, however : he went forward 
eloquently and feelingly with the service, until all was con- 
cluded in due form.' " 



334 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

In answer to the question, " Can the soldier be a Chris- 
tian?" read the following from the " Soldier\s Friend : " — 

" At a prayer-meeting of soldiers in the tent of the 
Christian Commission, in September last, a wounded soldier 
arose, and, commencing with the above proposition, said, 
' I find that a great many of my comrades do not believe 
that a soldier can be a Christian ; but I hnoio that they are 
mistaken, for I have tried it, and have found that it has power 
to give peace to the soul, and lift it above the fear of death. 
I do not believe that God saves his children from the deadly 
bullet by any miracle ; and' yet I have stood calm and peace- 
ful while bullets rattled thick as snow-flakes about my head. 
And in that hour of danger, when death was reaping a rich 
harvest, I have looked up, and my heart has said, " Father, 
not my will, but thine, be done. I stand here in defence of 
my country and the dear flag. I desire to do my duty to it 
and to thee ; and, in the consciousness of thy friendship and 
thy presence, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Yes, comrades, a man 
can be a Christian and a soldier ; and the Christian soldier is 
the happiest and serenest in every time of trouble and every 
hour of danger.' " 

One peculiar feature in connection with the war of the 
Rebellion deserves special notice ; viz., the revival spirit 
which was manifested among the soldiers from time to time. 
Faithful men of God were among the chaplains, who did 
not fail to speak to men of duty and destiny ; of God's great 
goodness, and man's obligations. Private soldiers as well 
as officers were among the praying souls of many churches ; 



CHRISTIAN LIFE IN THE ARMY AND NA VY. 335 

and, when they went to camp, they carried their religion with 
them. Some of them labored in season and out of season 
for the moral and religious benefit of those around them. 
And the ever-waiting spirit came in ans'wer to prayer, — 
prayer from the camp and hospital, and prayer from pious 
friends at home too ; and many a heart which had long 
resisted the influences of divine grace amid old scenes and 
familiar haunts, there, away from home and the dear ones 
of the family circle, — the heart that longed for the commu- 
nion of loved friends on earth so far away, — learned to 
confide in and hold sweet commimion with its Father in 
heaven. 



336 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 



CHAPTER IX. 

LAST HOURS OF SOME OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 

" Rest, soldier, rest^ thy task is done ; 
The battle calls no more for thee : 
Thou hast a nobler victory won 
Than Spartan at Thermopylae I 
Rest thou in peace : the flag still wares,— 

The dear flag of thy love and pride : 
Its stars watch o'er our myriad graves, 
And guard our heroes who have died." 

Dr. Arthur E. Jenks, 

HE closing hours of a human life are always full of 
interest. Though they can scarcely be regarded as 
a criterion of character, and hopes concerning the 
fitness of the soul for companionship with angels, based 
only upon the final acts or words of the parting spirit, may 
be to the last degree fallacious, yet, as every act and word 
of each immortal is the result of influence, and exerts in- 
fluence, being a part of the divine chain which links all 
worlds and all time in one grand whole, all have a measure 
of interest for the thoughtful mind ; while those which pre- 
cede or follow momentous changes must have a peculiar 
charm. It may be pleasing, and perhaps also instructive, 
to pause over the death-hours of some of Freedom's noble 
champions, and learn how Christian heroes sometimes die, 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 337 

cheered by an ever-brightening hope, and sustained by a 
trust that never faltered. 

To speak of all who passed on to eternal life thus cheered 
and supported would be a task of too great magnitude for 
these pages. The flowers must be gathered here and there 
for the bouquet thus to be placed on martyr-graves. 

And first may be remembered the earliest victims of the 
Hebellion, — "our Massachusetts dead in Baltimore." 

"It is said that one of them, Ladd, struck by the fatal 
ball, struggled, stood erect, with his face towards the blue 
sky above him, his dying eye having caught for the last 
time a glimpse of the flag, and, extending his hands in 
joyful greeting, cried out with unfaltering voice, ' All hail 
to the stars and stripes ! ' and expired. In his agony of 
glory, he spoke for a continent. 

" From that moment, the pavement on which he fell, the 
city where he so gloriously died, the States with their homes 
and hearts, were consecrated to Liberty and Union. And 
now the acclaim sounds forth from millions of hearts, from 
coast to inland, from mountain-top to peaceful vales and 
outstretching prairies. Age and infancy, manhood and wo- 
manhood, the hopeful nations, the good and brave, chant that 
anthem, and catch up the inspiring strain, ' All hail to the 
stars and stripes M " * 

Among the earliest martyrs was Col. Ellsworth, who 
commanded a regiment of Zouaves. The following, from 
the " Bugle Blast," is an account of his last moments. The 
regiment of Zouaves formed a part of the thirteen thousand 

* H. P. Shed, Esq. 
22 



338 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

troops sent across the Potomac to Alexandria on the 24th 
of May, 1861. They reached Alexandria ; and " after detail- 
ing Company E, Capt. Leveridge, to destroy the railroad 
track leading to Richmond, Col. Ellsworth directed the 
adjutant to form the regiment, and then with his aide, Lieut. 
Winser, and a file of men, proceeded, in double-quick time, 
up the street for the telegraph-office, to cut the wires. 

" Having proceeded about three blocks. Col. Ellsworth's 
attention was attracted by a large secession flag flying from 
the roof of the Marshall House, kept by J. W. Jackson. 
He entered the hotel, and inquired of a man there, ' Who 
put that flag up ? ' The man answered, ' I don't know ; I'm 
a boarder here.' 

'' Col. Ellsworth, Lieut. Winser, the chaplain of the regi- 
ment, a volunteer aide, and the four privates, w^ent up to 
the roof; and Col. Ellsworth cut down the obnoxious flag. 
As the party were returning down the stairs, Francis E. 
Brownell, a private of Company A, being foremost, they met 
the man in the hall who had said he was a boarder, but who 
proved to be the landlord, Jackson, having a double-barrel 
gun, which he levelled at Brownell. Brownell struck up the 
gun with his musket ; and Jackson, at the same instant 
pulling both triggers of the gun, lodged the contents of both 
barrels in the body of Col. Ellsworth, who was descending 
next to Brownell. 

" Col. Ellsworth, who was at that time rolling up the 
flag, received the fatal charge between the second and third 
ribs, and immediately fell forward upon the hall floor, and 
exclaiming, ' My God ! ' instantly expired. 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 339 

" Brownell instantly levelled his musket at Jackson's head, 
and fired. The ball struck on the bridge of the nose, and, 
crashing through the skull, killed him on the spot. As he 
fell forward, Brownell followed the shot by a bayonet-thrust 
through the body, pinning him to the floor." Thus was 
Ellsworth's death speedily avenged. Thus fell an officer^ 
in the peaceful discharge of his duty, by the hand of a 
ruthless murderer. How die the privates ? Let the following 
thrilling incident, which occurred at City-Point Hospital, 
answer : — 

" A chaplain of the Christian Commission, while moving 
through the long line of sufferers, administering the conso- 
lation of the gospel, approached the bedside of a gallant 
fellow who was severely wounded. His earthly march was 
nearly ended : but, when the chaplain asked him if he was 
prepared to die, he motioned for pencil and paper, and with 
a tremulous hand wrote, ' I am prepared to go to heaven ; 
my trust in Jesus Christ is perfect ; ' and, immediately un- 
der, these words of assured victory over the grave, ' Come, 
rally round the flag, boys ! ' The chaplain took the paper, 
and, standing up, read it with a loud voice. Just as he 
concluded, a soldier, who had recently lost a hand, sprang 
from his bed, and, weaving the mutilated stump in the air, 
burst forth with the glorious song his dying comrade had 
suggested. The effect was electric. A thousand voices 
took up the chorus, and the place of suffering was made to 
fairly rock with thunder of melody. As that vast soldier- 
choir ceased singing, the chaplain turned to look upon the dy- 
ing brave. He w^as just in time to catch the last faint smile 



340 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

that flickered across tlie sunburnt face, as the soul was 
wafted on the strains of that Union-music to the throne of 
Liberty." 

The following incidents were published in a Christian- 
Commission pamphlet : — 

" On the damp ground at Falmouth lay a poor sufferer, 
whose body gave him no rest. Said he to the Rev. A. S. 
Twombly, ' Please talk to me about those things (meaning 
God and heaven) some more.' — ' I continued,' says Mr. 
Twombly, ' the conversation I had begun ; when, turning 
about, I found him indeed tranquilly asleep.' " 

" A dying boy from Venango County, Penu., said to a del- 
egate, as he took his hand and placed it on his breast, ' Stay 
with me, oh ! stay witli me, and talk of Jesus until I die.' 
He fell asleep in that same Jesus at sundown." 

" A young man from Vermont, suffering excruciating 
pain from the loss of his leg, said to tlie same delegate, 
'• My sufferings are beyond language to describe ; but the 
sweetness of the precious Jesus you have brought me ex- 
ceeds them.' With these words he closed his eyes on his 
earthly trials, to look upon the face of his Saviour." 

Among our fallen heroes was Col. Baker, who fell at 
Ball's Bluff. He was a senator from California, and laid 
aside the toga for a sword, under the sense of duty. Thus 
speaks the " Cincinnati Commercial " concerning him and 
his last hours : — 

" The writer met Col. Baker, in June last, on a steamer 
going from Baltimore to Fortress Monroe. He said he did 
not expect to survive the war; that, in his judgment, he 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 341 

never should see the shores of the Pacific again. This was 
hardly so much a presentiment on his part as a calculation. 
He said the troops were green, and it would be necessary 
for the officers to expose themselves. He had seen ser- 
vice, and would feel it a duty to lead his regiment. The 
enemy had plenty of sharpshooters, and he presumed 
they would pick him off. He said he believed it would 
be his fate to die at the head of his regiment ; and so he 
died. 

" It may illustrate the temper and character of the man 
to mention, that after saying with as perfect calmness as he 
could have named the most trivial circumstance, that he be- 
lieved it would be his fate to fall in battle, and that he 
should never see his home on the Pacific again, he retired 
from the guards, where he had been engaged in conversa- 
tion, to the cabin, and, seating himself at the piano, played, 
with grace and skill remarkable for a gentleman amateur on 
that instrument, several touching airs, among them the fa- 
vorite of the English soldiers before Sevastopol, — sweet 
and mournful ' Annie Laurie.' " 

Thus " Carleton " narrates the manner of his death : — 
" The force behind the hill suddenly came over it, yelling 
and whooping like savages. Col. Baker was in front of his 
men, urging them to resist the impending shock. He was 
calm and collected, standing with his face to the foe, his 
left hand in his bosom. A man sprang from the rebel 
ranks, ran up behind him, and, with a self-cocking revolver, 
fired six bullets into him. Two soldiers in front of him 
fired at the same time. One bullet tore open his side ; 



'342 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

another passed throngh his skull. Without a murmur, 
a groan, or a sigh, he fell dead. 

" But, as he fell, Capt. Beirel, of the Califoruia regiment, 
leaped from the ranks, and blew out the fellow's brains with 
his pistol. 

" There was a fierce and terrible fight. The Californi- 
ans rushed forward to save the body of their beloved com- 
mander. They fell upon the enemy with the fury of mad- 
men. They tliought not of life or death. They had no 
fear. Each man was a host in himself. There was a close 
hand-to-hand contest, bayonet-thrusts, desperate struggles, 
trials of strength. Men fell, but rose again, bleeding, yet 
still fighting, driving home the bayonet, pushing back the 
foe, clearing a space around the body of the fallen hero, and 
bearing it from the field." * 

As one thinks of the noble souls that " counted not their 
lives dear unto them," and passed away gloriously to their re- 
ward, he wishes for the privilege of covering acres of paper 
with the record. Only a meagre report can, however, here 
be given. Many stars in our brilliant constellation of heroes 
must be barely named ; and many more, stars, too, " of the 
first magnitude," cannot be named at all. 

Tliere was Gen. Lyon, who fell at the head of the First 
Iowa Eegiment, which had lost its colonel, while making 
a gallant charge upon the enemy. 

The soldier-astronomer, Gen. Mitchell, — a devotee of 
science, whose writings are both popular and useful, — 

* Following the Flag. 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 343 

" His mighty life was burned away 
By Carolina's fiery sun : 
The pestilence that walks by day 

Smote liim before his course seemed run. 



The constellations of the sky — 

The Pleiades, the Southern Cross — 
Looked sadly down to sec him die, 
To see a nation weep his loss." 

Tlie martyr-cliaplam, Arthur Buckminster Fuller (a 
brother of one of America's representative women, Marga- 
ret Fuller, Countess d'Ossoli), who fell at Fredericksburg, 
Dec. 11, 18G2. The loyal heart will never forget his noble 
patriotic words as he rushed forward to cross the river 
under fire of the enemy : " I must do something for my 
country. " 

The " Knightly Soldier," how brave and noble ! His 
last words, except words of cheering to his men, were, " I 
do trust Jesus fully, wliolly ; " and so the name of Major 
Henry W. Camp is embalmed forever. 

Young Sneider, son of a veteran missionary, who was 
shot near Petersburg. His farewell words will sound 
through the ages : " Tell my brother to stand by the flag, and 
cling to the cross of Christ.'^ 

Young Trask, the late editor of the " Kansas State Jour- 
nal," who fell in the rebel raid at Lawrence. His answer 
will not soon be forgotten. When asked, '' What will you 
do if the guerillas invade your State? " his reply was brave 
and characteristic, " I'll die for Kansas !" 



344 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PBISON. 

" O fateful prophecy ! fresh young lips, 
That uttered it half smiling ! did no drear 
Forecast of evil, like a dark eclipse, 
Blanch their bright bloom the while, as with a mortal fear ? 

* ril die for Kansas ! ' Ay ; and he has died, — 
Died in the freshness of his young renown : 
Oh ! reverently, my country, yet with pride, 
Give him his well-earned due, — a martyr's name and crown." * 

The following newspaper record is of unusual interest, 
because it describes the patriotism of John Goldsmith 
Hanson, a great grand-nephew of Oliver Goldsmith, the 
celebrated poet : — 

" When his grandmother and aunt urged on him the dan- 
gers of a soldier's life, he repeatedly said, ' God can defend 
me on the battle-field as well as in any other place. I 
can be a Christian soldier.' His spirit was a cheerful, un- 
complaining one. He bore the hardships of a soldier's life 
without a murmur, jesting over his discomforts. He sur- 
vived a dreadful attack of typhoid-fever, which confined him 
four months to the hospital. In the midst of camp-life, he 
wrote, ' I read my Bible every day.' His first battle-field 
was at Culpepper, Aug. 9 ; and his last letters describe the 
part his regiment took in the engagement. The concluding 
words of the letter are, ' The Union forever I ' He was not 
heard from again till his name appeared among the list of the 
killed. A letter from a friend describes his death as in- 

* Mrs. Caroline A. Mason. 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOMS CHAMPIONS. 345 

stantaneoiis. . He was shot through the head ; and the same 
volley killed his friend, J. R. Mitchell." 

One brave fellow, named Broad, from Concord, Mass., a 
member of the Massacluisetts Fifty-seventh, must be men- 
tioned, though more briefly than his heroism deserves. See- 
ing an officer lying in front, who had nearly lost his leg by a 
solid shot, and being assured, that, if he was brought in and 
cared for, his life might be saved, this hero said, " I have 
neither wife nor child to suffi^r if I am killed ; and, if I can 
save that man's life, I will do it." He went therefore, and 
brought him in safely, but was himself wounded, so that he 
died shortly after.* 

Brave Ulric Dahlgren, whose beautiful portrait adorns 
this volume, should receive in these pages more than a pass- 
ing notice ; and from the columns of the " American 
Volunteer" the following article is taken, to vindicate the 
character of one unjustly aspersed, and to assist in preserv- 
ing unimpaired the memory of one of the most gallant and 
honored of the young heroes of the late Rebellion. The 
article is from the pen of Major Sidney Herbert, aide-de- 
camp, who was associated with Col. Dahlgren in the army. 

" I hare yet to learn that the written programme of Col. Dahlgren, 
which designed the burning of Richmond, the ravaging of its women, 
and the murder of President Davis and all his cabinet, has ever been 
disavowed or denounced by the Washington ( 1 ) Government, or by the 
newspapers that support it." — Geokge Augusta Sala. 

" The above paragraph forms a poi^tion of this gentle- 

* A letter in the " Boston Journal," from Capt. H. H. Buttrick, nan-ated 
the above heroic deed. 



346 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

man's introduction to a scurrilous publication entitled ' Belle 
Boyd in Camp and Prison.' The character of the author 
of the book, — Belle Boyd herself, — and the vile calumnies 
which its pages contain, would deter us from any notice of 
tliis infamous slander of one of the noblest and bravest 
heroes of this or any age of civilized warfare, were it not 
for the high literary reputation of its English author. He 
has once visited our country, and, while here, enjoyed, as we 
believe, to its fullest extent, the hospitality of our leading 
literary characters. And yet, in the hour of our deepest 
distress and greatest peril, he lends his name and literary 
talents to as vile a slander (which he repeats in his extended 
introduction to the book) as ever was aimed at a chivalrous 
and humane, but defeated and slaughtered foe. But, thank 
God ! the foul slander lives only as a lasting reproach upon 
those who welcomed its birth, nourished its infancy, and 
then gave it wings to fly. And we now call upon all true 
Americans, as they have regard for the honor and fair fame 
of their heroic and lamented dead, to forever set their faces 
against this vile slanderer of our country, her cause, and 
her fallen heroes. Let him write, henceforth, if he must 
write for American readers, for the men and women whose 
cause he so readily espoused and so earnestly defended. 

" Of Col. Dahlgren's last gallant exploit, which proved 
so fatally unsuccessful, and in which he lost his own life, 
his father, Rear-Admiral J. A. Dahlgren, then in com- 
mand of our naval force at Charleston, thus tenderly but 
severely and justly speaks, in a letter which bears date July 
24, 18G4. He says, ' I have patiently and sorrowfully 



LAST HOURS OF FREED03rS CHAMPIONS. 347 

awaited the hour when I shoukl be able to vindicate fully 
the memory of my gallant son, Col. Ulric Dahlgren, and 
lay bare to the Avorld the atrocious imposture of those, who, 
not content with abusing and defacing the remains of the 
noble boy, have knowingly and persistently endeavored to 
blemish his spotless name by a forged lie. 

" ' That hour has at last come. I have before me a pho- 
tolitho copy of the document which the inhuman traitors at 
Richmond pretend was found upon the body of my sou 
after he had been basely assassinated by their chivalry at 
midnight, and who, on the pretext that this paper disclosed 
an intent to take the lives of the arch-rebel and his counsel- 
lors, and to destroy Richmond, have not hesitated to commit 
and commend the most shocking barbarities on the remains of 
the young patriot, and to exult like dastards over his sad fate. 

" ' I can now affirm that the document is a forgery, — a 
barefaced, atrocious forgery, — so palpable, that the wicked- 
ness of the act is only equalled by the recklessness with 
which it has been perpetrated and adhered to ; for the mis- 
erable caitiiFs did not confine themselves to the general terms 
of a mere allegation, but published the paper in all the pre- 
cision of a photographic facsimile^ as if not to leave a 
doubt or cavil. I felt from the first just as if I knew the 
fact that my son never wrote that paper, — that it was a 
forgery ; but I refrained from giving utterance to that faith 
until I had seen a sample of the infamous counterfeit, and, 
having seen it, could say, as I say now, that a more fiendish 
lie never was invented. 



348 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" ' It is well known that the cruel usage practised on the 
Union soldiers who were imprisoned at Richmond had be- 
come a theme at the North, and that their release from slow 
and horrid death was the object of the expedition. My son 
had just returned from a visit to me off Charleston when 
he learned of the project. Every one was aware that he was 
in no condition to take the field just then : for he had lost a 
leg by a wound received in a charge through Hagerstown, 
pending the battle of Gettysburg ; and the consequent illness 
nearly cost him his life. The vigor of his frame had 
carried him through the crisis ; but the wound was not 
perfectly healed : he was still weak, and could only move 
on crutches. 

" ' No sooner was he apprised of what was contemplated 
than he sought to join the enterprise, in remembrance of 
comrades pining in loathsome dungeons, — of men with 
whom he had ridden side by side amid the deadly conflict ; 
and, a strong conviction of their sufferings animating every 
pulse of his gallant heart, he felt that duty called him there, 
and the reluctant consent of the authorities was at last 
yielded to his earnest entreaties. 

" ' It is not my purpose here to narrate the whole course 
of this noble enterprise ; that will be the duty of a future 
day : but no one had seen Col. Dahlgren in his full vigor sit 
his charger more gracefully, or better endure the incessant 
and multiplied hardships of that ride, by day and by night, 
in shine and storm. 

" ' The failure of his column to connect with that of 
(ren, Kilpatrick led to the failure of the expedition, and the 



LAST HOUBS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 349 

death of as noble a soldier as ever gave life to a great 
cause. 

" ' The gallant youth fell, pierced by many balls, at the 
head of his men ; and, even while his brave spirit lingered 
about its scattered tenement, the chivalry began to strip him 
of his clothing. Whether the detestable purpose was accom- 
plished before he was dead, I know not ; nor whether the 
infamous wretches paused to make sure that life was extinct 
before they severed a ring given by a departed sister, 
and deeply prized by the heart that is now as still as her 
own. 

*' ' It was not until daylight disclosed the utter helplessness 
of the survivors that the victors took heart of grace, and 
consummated their brave deed by marching the wearied and 
famished troopers along the road, regardless of the fact that 
this led them by the body of their young chief, just as it lay, 
stripped, and covered with mud, but yet honored by the sad 
tokens which it exhibited of love and loyalty to the cause 
of his country. The absent limb told of recent battle-fields ; 
and the breathless body gave assurance that the last sacri- 
fice had been made. The young life, rich in promise, had 
been laid down ; and thus was redeemed the solemn oath of 
fealty to the Union. 

" 'No respect for the well-known gallantry of their victim, 
no feeling for his extreme youth, entered into the thoughts 
of these atrocious ruffians ; and only when sated with the 
mournful sight were the relics of the noble dead permitted 
such sepulture as a hasty grave could afford. 



350 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

" 'Be it remembered, that, to this time, nothing was known 
of the forged document. But presently it came to the upper 
chivalry of Richmond that one of the leaders of the expe- 
dition had fallen. Frenzied with terror at the possible con- 
sequences of the success of the undertaking, — for they had 
every reason to dread that the vengeance of the released 
prisoners would respect no person, — they sought a pretext 
for the meditated villany on the body of Col. Dahlgren, in 
a forgery, which, they thought, would extenuate all disregard 
of every dictate of manhood and humanity. 

" ' So they forged the lie, and gave it currency in all the 
minuteness of a seeming facsimile ; while the original coun- 
terfeit was so recklessly executed, that the shameful deceit 
could not fail to be apparent to any one having the least 
knowledge of Col. Dahlgren's handwriting. 

" ' So the remains of the heroic dead were torn from 
the grave, conveyed to Richmond, and there exposed to 
the taunts and gaze of a mob ; then hurried away, in the 
obscurity of the night, to some nameless spot, whence it 
was intended they should never be recovered. There was 
an ingenuity in the contrived villany, from which the mind 
recoils with horror. 

" ' He had not completed the first year of his manhood 
when he was so basely assassinated ; yet, by his bravery and 
devotion on many a battle-field, he had won the high but 
well-deserved rank of colonel of cavalry. He was tall, 
well-built, and graceful : his frame gave every promise of 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 351 

future strength, but, as yet, lacked the development of the 
matured man, and was divested of all spare flesh by a life 
of constant activity in the saddle. 

" ' To the casual observer, he appeared like a very young 
and a very diffident man, gentle and unobtrusive, a mod- 
erate talker, and always of pleasant mood. But beneath 
lay a character of the firmest mould, a constancy of purpose 
never to be diverted from its object, courage that was never 
disturbed by any danger, impulses of the purest nature 
habitually in exercise, producing a course of life unblem- 
ished by the least meanness, — a good son, a warm friend, 
dutiful alike to God and man. I can now look back over 
the whole of his young life, and declare, that in no instance 
did he ever fail in the most respectful obedience to my least 
wish. A more perfect and lovely character I cannot con- 
ceive. 

'' ' His courage was not of that rampant character so 
troublesome to friend as well as to foe, but came forth in- 
stantly at the first sign of danger. To these qualities he 
added a deep sense of religious obligation, having been 
carefully trained by a departed mother to the Church and 
the Sunday School. But in this, as in many other respects, 
he was not demonstrative. When apparently at the verge 
of death from a wound, and reminded of the danger, he 
smiled, and said that he had never gone into battle with- 
out asking forgiveness of his sins, and commending his soul 
to his Maker. And so passed away this bright young life, 



352 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

SO radiant in promise. Nor is it only a father's love and 
affection that prompts such praise, as the many who knew 
him will confirm. 

" ' The last letter that he ever wrote was to myself. It was 
from camp, just before putting foot in stirrup, and about to 
set out on the last of a brilliant and eventful career. He 
directed that it should only be given to me in the event of 
his not returning. He speaks of the enterprise as "glori- 
ous, and that he would be ashamed to show his face again if 
he had failed to go in it." He expressed himself as fully sen- 
sible of the danger, and concludes thus : "If we do not 
return, there is no better place to give up the ghost." ' 

" Such was the brave and generous spirit whose light has 
been so early quenched forever. That of itself might have 
sufficed to sate the vengeance even of traitors. The shock- 
ing cruelty that has been exhibited to his inanimate body, 
and the perpetration of a forgery to justify it, will, in the 
end, recoil on the infamous ruffians. 

" To the gallant young soldier it has been as nothing. He 
had passed away to his final account, leaving behind him a 
name far beyond the reach of the chivalry. There are 
those left, however, — his distinguished father, two lovely 
and bereaved sisters, and a patriotic and heroic brother, 
who, with the father, has done good service for the country, 
— whose pride and pleasure it will be to vindicate his fair 
fame. He wall ever be remembered as a young patriot of 
spotless life and purest purpose ; honest, true, and gentle, 
dutiful to every obligation, unselfish and generous to a fault ; 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 353 

an undaunted soldier of the Union, who never struck a blow 
at an unarmed enemy, but carefully and kindly respected 
the claims of defenceless women and children ; an accom- 
plished gentleman, a sincere Christian, a faithful com- 
rade, who, not recovered from the almost fatal illness conse- 
quent on losing a limb in battle, went forth to brave every 
hardship in the hope of aiding in the release of our captive 
soldiers from the dungeons of a merciless enemy, who, for 
this, treated his dead body with savage ferocity, and hesi- 
tated not to forge his name. 

" Peace to his ashes, where they now finally rest, amid 
the scenes of his boyhood, and by the side of his sainted 
mother ! The laurels on the young and fair brow of Ulrie 
Dahlgren will never fade while there are true men and wo- 
men in the land to keep them green. The poet has truly 

said, — 

* Ulric Dahlgren, in the story 

Of thy country's grief and wrong, 
Thine shall stand a name of glory. 
Bright in history and song.' 

"On Tuesday, Oct. 31, 1865, his recently recovered 
body was brought to Washington, where appropriate ser- 
vices were held, preparatory to its removal to Philadelphia 
for final interment. The occasion was one of unusual in- 
terest : but a severe storm prevented the anticipated military 
display ; and the body, having lain in state at the City Hall, 
where it was viewed by thousands of sorrowful hearts, was 
escorted by the nearest route to the Presbyterian Church in 
Four and a Half Street. The military escort consisted of 



354 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

• 
the Eighth Regiment of Hancock's Veteran Vokmteers, 

detachments of the Seventh, Tenth, Fourteenth, and 
Eighteenth Regiments Veteran Reserve Corps, and the 
Hundred and Ninety-fifth and Two Hundred and Four- 
teenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, all under the command 
of Brig. - Gen. Gile, of the Veteran Reserve Corps. 
The pall-bearers occupied the head of the procession, and 
consisted of the following officers, — Brevet -Brig. -Gen. 
D. P. Dewitt, Tenth Veteran Reserve Corps ; Brevet-Brig.- 
Gen. D. B. McKibben, Two Hundred and Fourteenth 
Pennsylvania ; Brig.-Gen. S. D. Oliphant, Fourteenth Vet- 
eran Reserve Corps ; Col. J. W. Fisher, One Hundred and 
Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania ; Brevet-Col. R. E. Johnson, Ninth 
Veteran Reserve Corps ; Col. Charles F. Johnson, Eighteenth 
Veteran Reserve Corps ; Col. F. E. Pierce, Eighth United- 
States Veteran Volunteers ; Brevet-Col. John B. Collin, 
Seventh Veteran Resei^^e Corps. The coffin was placed 
before the pulpit, wliich was draped, as were also the galle- 
ries, with large American flags* The church was darkened, 
and lighted with gas ; and, as every available seat or stand- 
ing-place was occupied, the effect was most solemn and 
impressive. The President, and members of the cabinet, 
distinguished army and navy officers, clerks, citizens, and 
ladies, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, came 
together on this mournful occasion to pay their tribute of 
respect to one of the noblest young heroes that ever drew a 
sword in a righteous cause. 

" At the conclusion of the introductory services, which 
were of a deeply impressive character, the Rev. Henry 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOM'S CHAMPIONS. 355 

"Ward Beecher delivered a funeral oration, full of eloquent 
and tender words of eulogy, and marked by his usual vigor 
aud earnestness. 

" The burial casket was draped with the national colors, 
and garlands of flowers were strewn on the top. A splen- 
did photograph of Col. Dahlgren lay at the head of the 
bier, as well as the folloAving autograph-letter of Secretary 
Stanton, which accompanied young Dahlgren's commission 
as colonel, in which the Secretary thus paid earnest tribute 
to the hero's gallant services : — 

" ' Washington, July 21, 1863. 

" ' Dear Sir : — Enclosed you have a commission for 
colonel, without having passed through the intermediate 
grade of major. Your gallant and meritorious service has, I 
think, entitled you to the distinction, although it is a depart- 
ure from general usage, which is only justified by distin- 
guished merit such as yours. I hope you may speedily 
recover ; and it will rejoice me to be the instrument of your 
further advancement in the service. 

" ' With great regard, I am yours truly, 

" ' Edwin M. Stai^ton.' 

"The remains were escorted, at the close of the services, 
to the depot, and were taken by the evening train to Phila- 
delphia, where they laid in state, in Independence Hall, dur- 
ing the night. 

" The final funeral services were held in the morning ; the 
Rev. J. P. Wilson, of Newark, delivering an appropriate 
discourse. The body was then removed to Laurel Hill, that 



856 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

beautiful "city of the dead," — so like our own beloved 
Mount Aubura, — escorted by six companies of the Seventh 
Regiment of the first army corps, and two companies of 
marines and city troops, who acted as a guard of honor. 
Among the distinguished officers present were Rear- Admi- 
ral Dahlgren, the father of the deceased, and Gens. Meade 
and Humphreys. His Honor the Mayor was also of the 
party. 

" No loyal heart can fail to thank God with feelings of 
dcTOut gratitude, as well for himself as for a brave officer 
and bereaved family, that the mortal remains of the chival- 
rous young hero were at last recovered from a ruthless 
burial in rebel soil, and brought home, — back to the scenes 
of his earlier years, — there to be finally entombed with all 
the honors due the highest type of Christian knighthood. 

" A brief career Avas his ; and yet how noble, how sublime, 
its well-filled record ! How many and how brilliant were 
his exploits by day and by night ! How well do I remem- 
ber him — the last time I ever saw his manly face — as 
he appeared at Gettysburg ! — so brave and hopeful, so full 
of zeal and patriotic ardor. It is impossible not to be in- 
spired by his very presence. 

" Soon after this he was severely wounded, and, when all 
hope was lost, suffered the amputation of his foot and ankle. 
In this condition he paid a visit to his father, then in com- 
mand of our naval force before Charleston. Writing to a 
friend from that place, he says, ' I stay to take part in the 
great fight : if I die, what more glorious than the death of 
men fighting for their country?' Such a death, soon after, 



LAST HOURS OF FREEDOMS CHAMPIONS. 357 

but not then and there, was his fate, — a noble and heroic 
struggle against all hope of success, and a death and burial 
such as would disgrace the fiendish warriors of a savage 
tribe. 

" Ulric Dahlgren deserved a better fate than this, even at 
the hands of his enemies ; for they had never found him 
other than a brave, honorable, and humane foe." 

Only one more record, and the list will be reluctantly 
closed. John B. Marsh, a Union soldier, was a prisoner 
among the rebels, forced into their ranks, and, on deserting, 
was recaptured, and then shot. He succeeded in giving the 
following note to a fellow-prisoner : — 

" Kind friend, if ever you reach our happy lines, have 
this put into the Northern papers, that my father, Rev. 
Leonard Marsh, who resides in Maine, may know what has 
become of me, and what I was shot for. I am to be shot 
for defending my country. I love her, and am veiling to 
die for her. Tell my parents I am also happy in the Lord. 
My future is bright. I hope to speak to you as I pass out 
to die. "John B. Marsh." 

" One of the guards told Mr. Shipman, that when young 
Marsh was placed by his coffin, and ready to receive the fire 
of his executioners, he was told he could speak a word if 
he desired to. He took ofi" his hat, and, looking upon them, 
cried out, ' Three cheers for the old flag and the Union ! ' 
then, swinging his hat, shouted at the top of his voice, 
'Hurrah^ hurrah, hurrah!' and fell a noble martyr to the 
dear old flag." * 

* New- York Evangelist. 



858 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Tlius have our loyal braves passed on to their reward. 
We are proud of the record,* — we who love the flag in 
whose defence they died. 

Thank God for the hope of meeting those among them 
whom we knew and loved, where Affection's amaranthine 
flower blooms in its undying beauty, while the angels will 
gather the immortal blossoms, and crown the ransomed 
children of earth with fadeless garlands ! 

* Many loyal towns are wisely preserving the names of their own heroes 
by erecting monuments to their memory. An elegant marble shaft, sur- 
mounted by an eagle, thus commemorates the heroic dead of Reading, 
Mass. The following ode, written by the author of these pages, was sung 
at the inauguration of the monument: — 

Air, — " Pleyel's Hymn." 

To this sacred spot we come, 
Half triumphant, half in gloom; 
Thinking of the brave and blest 
Gone to share a patriot's rest. 

Now the marble shaft we rear : 
Hero-names recorded there, 
Telling to all coming time 
Of their patriot deeds sublime. 

And though far from us repose 
Some that bravely met our foes, 
Near or far they all shall be 
Honored by the pure and free. 

Lord ! may we life's conflict meet, 
As they went, with willing feet; 
Crowned as victors may we rise. 
Meet our brave ones in the skies I 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 359 



CHAPTER X. 

THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS . 

Great in his grasp of thought, and good as wise, — 

Not one pale shadow on his fame to rest : 
Honor, love, trust, and all that good men prize, 

Were well-worn treasures of his guileless breast. 
We dare not count our loss, but strive to see 
Through the thick darkness where God's light may be. 

Bring for his honored head the laurel-crown ; 

Low at his feet Spring's loveliest blossoms spread ; 
On spotless marble grave his fair renown, 

And write his name among our noblest dead. 
Deep in the nation's heart his rest shall be, 
Till time is lost in far eternity." 

" L.," in the " Boston Transcript." 

NE of the greatest men of modern times was Abra- 
ham Lincoln, and one of the best for his time and 
place. His name is more deeply graven in the 
hearts of the loyal American people to-day than that of any 
that adorns the storied shaft of any age. Nor is monu- 
mental marble needed for a man whose fame belongs not 
only to his country, but to humanity ; not only to the nine- 
teenth century, but to the ages. It outshines the sun ; it 
will outlast the nation ; for it will live as the name of a 
Messiah, even till all nations shall be merged into that great 
kingdom whose endless duration was the burden of ancient 
prophecy, and is still the theme of immortal song. 




360 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

Born amid the obscurity of log-cabin life in Kentucky, 
on the 12th of February, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, by dint 
of untiring effort and undaunted perseverance, aided by a 
good conscience and pioneer health, rose to eminence as a 
lawyer and a statesman, and on the 4th of March, 1861, 
took his seat in the chair of Washington, as the acknowl- 
edged head of the nation. 

Then followed four years of sanguinary conflict. The 
Quaker blood of the new President asked for peace ; but the 
rebel horde would not accept an olive-branch from him, and 
saw only in his inaugural address a declaration of war. 

God reserved for this man, whom he had ordained to be 
a " Saul among his brethren " in more than one sense, the 
high privilege of issuing a proclamation, which, in all 
coming time, should rank wdth the Magna Charta and 
the Declaration of Independence, — the Proclamation of 
Emancipation, whereby the chains of slavery were broken, 
and millions made forever free beneath the glorious banner 
of our country. This proclamation came in force on New- 
Year's Day, 1863. For its issue, the colored people of our 
land now look upon him as their deliverer, — the Messiah 
who came to proclaim liberty to the captives, the Moses 
who should lead them to the Promised Land. 

And truly he was like Moses : for he only saw the land ; 
he did not stay to possess it. By the ruthless hand of a bar- 
barous assassin, while seeking a little rest from crushing 
labors, in Ford's Theatre, at Washington, April 14, 1865, 
the great and good man was cruelly murdered. The news 
of the assassination darted along the wires, and a nation's 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 861 

eyes flashed fire : the intelligeDce of the death of this pre- 
eminent martyr followed, and a nation wept. And this is 
no figure of speech. Strong men shed tears as they heard 
" The President is dead ! " and their home-circles were as 
one band of weeping mourners for him Avho seemed a per- 
sonal friend to all. The funeral services all over the loyal 
North told again the grief at first manifested.* 

This brief sketch of the life of the martyr of martyrs in 
our country's struggle is all that can here be furnished. 
Able pens have written his biography again and again ; and 
the reader is advised to seek such records of a stainless life 
and heroic death. 

* The following hjrmn, by the writer of these pages, was sung in Read- 
ing, Mass., on the day of the funeral : — 

Air, — " Mount Vernon." 

Hushed to-day are sounds of gladness 

From the mountains to the sea, 
While the plaintive voice of sadness 

Rises, mighty God ! to thee. 

Freedom claimed another martyr; 

Heaven received another saint. 
"Who are we, thy will to question ? 

Lord, we weep without complaint. 

May we, to thy wisdom bowing-, 

Own thy love in this dark spell, 
While with tears a mighty nation 

Buries one it loved so well I 

And O Thou who took our leader. 

With the Promised Land in view, 
While on Pisgah's height we leave him, 

Lead us. Lord, the Jordan through ! 



362 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL^ AND PRISON. 

A few incidents, however, in his life, may here be men- 
tioned. Here is a record of his visit to Antietam, by John 
W. GaiTett, Esq.,* which reveals the true nobility of the 
future martyi' : — 

" By his request, I accompanied President Lincoln, im- 
mediately after the battle of Antietam, to the scene of that 
sanguinary conflict, after passing over the Baltimore and 
Ohio Road from Washington to Harper's Ferry, I continued 
with him, by his desire, during the memorable period he 
spent with the officers and soldiers of the Federal army, and 
among the hospitals, and the wounded upon that bloody field. 
As in accord with the spirit of your fraternity, I mil men- 
tion a scene which occuiTed in one of those hospitals, which 
bedewed many eyes. 

" The President examined kindly and tenderly into the 
condition and care of the Federal wounded. He also passed 
through the hospitals where were placed the Confederate 
wounded. Many of these hospitals, in view of the large 
numberof the wounded, were improvised from the barns upon 
and in the vicinity of the field of battle. Passing through 
one of these, the middle space of an extensive Switzer barn, 
where a large number of Confederate wounded lay, the Pres- 
ident stopped about the centre of the apartment, opposite 
to a youth of striking appearance, probably of eighteen or 
twenty years of age. He lay looking very feeble and pallid. 
He held three straws in his hand, and was feebly moving 

* Mr. Garrett was presiding at a banquet given by Baltimore merchants 
to the United-States Convention of Odd Fellows. 



TEE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 363 

them to keep the insects from his face. The President asked 
if he had received all necessary attention. He replied 
that he had ; that his right leg had been amputated. The 
President responded, ' I tnist you ^viU get well.* The youth, 
great tears rolling from his eyes, said, ' No ; I am sinking : 
I shall die.' The President leaned tenderly over him, and 
said, 'Will you shake hands with me?' I remarked, 
*This is President Lincoln.' He attempted to raise his 
hand, and gave it to the President. The President asked 
him, 'Where are you from?' — ' Fi-om Georgia.' Again 
the President expressed the hope, still holding his hand, that 
he would recover. \ No,' said the youth ; ' I shall never see 
my mother again : I shall die.' The President still held his 
hand, and fervently ejaculated, whilst he wept, and his tears 
mingled with those of the sufferer, ' May God bless you, 
and restore you to your mother and your home ! ' Amid all 
the sad scenes of that field of carnage, coming forth from that 
sanctified spot, I said, ' Mr. President, such kindness will 
make missionaries of good will of the soldiers who return 
South to their homes.' The President then expressed his 
wishes generally to those accompanying him, that all the 
wounded and all the suflTerers should be kindly treated, and, 
in the course of conversation thereafter, expressed sanguine 
hopes, that at an early day, instead of such scenes of suffer- 
ing, scenes of concord and of good feeling, and a restored 
Union, would be speedily realized." 

The following letter from the President is also a proof 
of his sympathy with the bereaved who mourn the loss of 



364 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

patriot friends. The lady who received this letter was a 
poor widow, residing in Boston. Her sixth son, when the 
letter was published, was lying in a hospital. 

Executive Mansion, Washington, 
Nov. 25, 1864. 

Dear Madam, — I have been shown, in the files of the 
War Department, a statement of the Adjutant-General of 
Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who 
died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and 
fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt 
to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming ; but 
I cannot refrain from tendering to you consolation that may 
be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. 
I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish 
of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished 
memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that 
must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the 
altar of Freedom. 

Yours very sincerely and respectfully, 
To Mrs. Bixby, Boston, Mass. A. LINCOLN. 

The manner in which Secretary Seward came to know of 
the death of President Lincoln was singularly touching. A 
correspondent of the " Philadelphia Bulletin " says, — 

'" Mr. Seward had been kept in ignorance of the attack 
on the President, his physician fearing that the shock would 
be too great for him to bear ; and all newspapers were ri- 
gidly excluded from his room. On the Sunday following the 
assassination, the Secretary had the bed wheeled around so 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 365 

that he could see the tops of the trees in the park opposite, 
just putting on the spring foliage ; when his eye caught the 
stars and stripes at half-mast on the War Department, on 
which he gazed a while, then, turning to his attendant said, 
' The President is dead ! ' The attendant stammered, and 
changed color, as he tried to say nay ; but the sagacious old 
man said, ' If he had been alive, he would have been the 
first to call on me ; but he has not been here, nor has he 
sent to know how I am : and there's the flag at half-mast.' 
The old statesman's inductive reasoning had told the truth ; 
and he lay in silence, tears coursing down his gashed cheeks 
as the dreadful truth sank into his mind." 

The following well illustrates the character of the martyr 
of martyrs. It is from the pen of a con-espondent in the 
" New- York World." 

"I am sitting in the President's office. He was here 
very lately ; but he will not return to dispossess me of this 
high-backed chair he filled so long, nor resume his daily 
work at the table where I am wTiting. 

" There are here only Major Hay, and the friend who ac- 
companies me. A bright-faced boy runs in and out, darkly 
attired, so that his fob-chain of gold is the only relief to his 
mourning garb. This is little Tad, the pet of the White 
House. That great death with which the world rings has 
made upon him only the light impression which all things 
make on childhood. He will live to be a man pointed out 
everywhere for his father's sake ; and, as folks look at him, 
the tableau of the murder will seem to encircle him. 

" The room is long and high, and so thickly hung with 



866 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

maps, that the color of the wall cannot be discerned. The 
President's table, at which I am seated, adjoins a window 
at the farthest corner ; and to the left of my chair, as I re- 
cline in it, there is a longer table, before an empty grate, 
around which there are many chairs, where the Cabinet 
used to assemble. The carpet is trodden thin, and the 
brilliance of its dyes is lost. The furniture is of the formal 
cabinet class, stately and semi-comfortable. There are book- 
cases, sprinkled with the spare library of a country lawyer, 
but lately plethoric, like the thin body which has departed 
in its coffin. They are taking away Mr. Lincoln's private 
effects, to deposit them wheresoever his family may abide ; 
and the emptiness of the place, on this sunny Sunday, re- 
vives that feeling of desolation from which the land has 
scarce recovered. I rise from my seat, and examine the 
maps : they are from the coast-survey and the engineer de- 
partments, and exhibit all the contested ground of the war. 
There are pencil lines upon them, where some one has traced 
the route of armies, and planned the strategic circumfer- 
ences of campaigns. Was it the dead President who so 
followed the march of empire, and dotted the sites of shock 
and overthrow? 

*' Here is the Manassas country ; here the long reach of 
the wasted Shenandoah ; here the wavy line of the James, 
and the sinuous Peninsula. The wide campagna of the 
Gulf country sways in the Potomac breeze that filters in at 
the window ; and the Mississippi climbs up the wall, with 
blotches of blue and red to show where blood gushed at the 
bursting of deadly bombs. So in the half-gloomy, half- 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 367 

grand apartment roamed the tall and wrinkled figure, whom 
the country had summoned from his plain home into mighty 
history, with the geogi'aphy of the Republic drawn into a 
narrow compass, so that he might lay his great brown hand 
upon it everywhere. And walking to and fro, to and fro, 
to measure the destinies of arms, he often stopped, with his 
thoughtful eyes upon the carpet, to ask if his life were real, 
and he were the arbiter of so tremendous issues, or whether 
it was not all a fever-dream, snatched from his sofa in the 
routine ofRce of the prairie State. 

" There is but one picture on the marble mantle over the 
cold grate, — John Bright, — a photograph. 

" I can well imagine how the mind of Mr. Lincoln often 
went afar to the face of Bright, who said such kindly things 
of him when Europe was mocking his homely guise and 
provincial phraseology. To Mr. Lincoln, John Bright was 
the standard-bearer of America and Democracy in the Old 
World. He thrilled over Bright's bold denunciations of 
peer and ' privilege,' and stretched his long arm across the 
Atlantic to take that daring Quaker innovator by the 
hand. 

" I see some books on the table, — perhaps they have lain 
there undisturbed since the reader's dimming eyes grew 
nerveless, — a parliamentary manual, a thesaurus, and two 
books of humor, ' Orpheus C. Kerr ' and ' Artemus Ward.' 
These last were read by Mr. Lincoln in the pauses of his 
hard day's labor. Their tenure here bears out the popular 
verdict of his partiality for a good joke. And through the 
window, from this seat of Mr. Lincoln, I see, across the 



368 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

grassy groimcls of the Capitol, the broken shaft of the Wash- 
ington Monument, the Long Bridge, and the fort-tipped 
Heights of Arlington, reaching down to the shining river- 
side. These scenes he looked at often to catch some fresh- 
ness of leaf and water, and often raised the sash to let the 
world rush in where only the nation abided ; and hence on 
that awful night he departed early, to forget this room and 
its close applications in the abandon of the theatre. 

" I wonder if that were the least of Booth's crimes to 
slay this public servant in the stolen hours of recreation he 
enjoyed but seldom. We worked his life out here, and 
killed him when he asked a holiday. 

" Outside of this room there is an office, where his secre- 
taries sat, — a room more narrow, but as long ; and, oppo- 
site this adjunct office, a second door, directly behind Mr. 
Lincoln's chair, leads, by a private passage, to his family 
quarters. This passage is his only monument in the build- 
ing : he added or subtracted nothing else. It tells a long 
story of duns and loiterers, contract-hunters and seekers for 
commissions, garrulous parents on paltry errands, toadies 
without measure, and talkers without conscience. They 
pressed upon him through a great door opposite his win- 
dow, and, hat in hand, came courtesying to his chair, with 
an obsequious ' Mr. President ! ' 

" If he dared, though the chief magistrate and commander 
of the army and navy, to go out by the great door, these 
vampires leaped upon him w^itli their Babylonian pleas, and 
barred his walk to his hearthside. He could not insult 
them, since it was not in his nature ; and perhaps many of 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 

them had really urgent errands. So he called up the car- 
penter, and ordered a strategic route cut from his office to his 
hearth, and perhaps told of it after with much merriment. 

" Here should be written the biography of his official 
life, — in the room where have concentrated all the wires of 
action, and whence have proceeded the resolves which vital- 
ized in historic deeds. But only great measures, however 
carried out, were conceived in this office. 

" As I hear from my acquaintances here these episodes 
of the President's life, I recall many reminiscenses of his ride 
from Springfield to Harrisburg, over much of which I 
passed. Then he left home, and became an inhabitant of 
history. His face was solid and healthy, his step young, 
his speech and manner bold and kindly. I saw him at 
Trenton stand in the Legislature, and say, in his conversa- 
tional intonation, — 

" ' We may have to put the foot down firm.' 

*' How should we have hung upon his accents then, had we 
anticipated his virtues and Ms fate ! 

" Death is requisite to make opinion grave. We looked 
upon Mr. Lincoln then as an amusing sensation ; and there 
was much guffaw as he was regarded by the populace : he 
had not passed out of partisan ownership. Little by little, 
afterward, he won esteem, and often admiration, until the 
measure of his life was full, and the victories he achieved 
made the world applaud him. Yet, at this date, the Presi- 
dent was sadly changed. Four years of perplexity and 
devotion had wrinkled his face, and stooped his shoulders ; 
24 



370 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

and the failing eyes that glared upon the play closed as his 
mission was completed, and the world had been educated 
enough to comprehend him. 

" The White House has been more of a republican man- 
sion under his control than for many administrations. Un- 
couth guests came to it often, typical of the simple Western 
civilization of which he was a graduate ; and, while no 
coarse altercation has ever ensued, the portal has swung 
wide for four years. 

"A friend, connected with a Washington newspaper, told 
me that he had occasion to see Mr. Lincoln one evening, 
and found that the latter had gone to bed. But he was told 
to sit down in the office, and directly the President entered. 
He wore only a night-shirt ; and his long, lank, hirsute 
limbs, as he sat down, inclined the guest to laughter, Mr. 
Lincoln disposed of his request at once, and manifested a 
desire to talk. So he reached for the cane which my friend 
carried, and conversed in this manner : — 

" ' I always used a cane when I was a boy. It was a 
freak of mine. My favorite one was a knotted beech stick, 
and I carved the head myself. There's a mighty amount 
of character in sticks. Don't you think so ? You have seen 
these fishing-poles that fit into a cane ? Well, that was an 
old idea of mine. Dogwood-clubs were favorite ones with 
the boys. I s'pose they use 'em yet. Hickory is too heavy, 
unless you get it from a young sapling. Have you ever no- 
ticed how a stick in one's hand will change his appearance ? 
Old women and witches wouldn't look so without sticks. 
Meg Merrilies understands that.' 



THE MABTYR OF MARTYRS. 371 

" In this way, my friend, who is a clerk in a newspaper- 
office, heard the President talk for an hour. The undress 
of the man, and the triteness of his subject, would be staples 
for merriment if we did not reflect that his greatness was 
of no conventional cast ; that the playfulness of his nature, 
and the simplicity of his illustration, lightened public busi- 
ness, but never arrested it. 

" It will not do to say definitely in this notice how several 
occasional wi-iters visited the White House, heard the Presi- 
dent's vieAvs, and assented to them, and afterward abused 
him. But these attained no remembrance, nor tart reproach, 
from that least retaliatory of men. He harbored no malice, 
and is said to have often placed himself on the stand-point 
of Davis and Lee, and accounted for their defection while 
he could not excuse it. 

" He was a good reader, and took all the leading New- 
York dailies every day. His secretaries perused them, and 
selected all the items which would interest the President : 
these were read to him, and considered. He bought few 
new books, but seemed ever alive to works of comic value. 
The vein of humor in him was not boisterous in its mani- 
festations, but touched the geniality of his nature ; and he 
reproduced all that he absorbed, to elucidate some new issue, 
or turn away argument by a laugh. 

"As a jester, Mr. Lincoln's tendency was caricatured by 
the prints, but not exaggerated. He probably told as many 
stories as are attributed to him, but not all that are attribut- 
ed to him. Nor did he, as is averred, indulge in these 



372 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

jests on solemn occasions. No man felt with such personal 
intensity the extent of the casualties of his time ; and he 
often gravely reasoned whether he could be in any way 
responsible for the bloodshed and devastation over which it 
was his duty to preside. 

*' An acquaintance of mine, a printer, once w^ent to him 
to plead for a man's life. He had never seen the man for 
whom he pleaded, and had no acquaintance with the man's 
family. Mr. Lincoln was touched by his disinterestedness^ 
and said to him, — 

" ' If I were any thing but the President,! would be con- 
stantly working as you have done.' 

" Whenever a doubt of one's guilt lay on his mind, the 
man was spared by his direct interference. 

" There was an entire absence, in the President's charac- 
ter, of the heroic element. He would do a great deed in dis' 
hahille as promptly as in full dress. He never aimed to be 
brilliant, unconsciously understanding that a great man's 
brilliancy is to be measured by the ' wholeness ' and syn^ 
thetic cast of his career, rather than by any fitfid ebullitions. 
For this reason, we look in vain through his messages for 
' points.' His point was not to turn a sentence or an epi- 
gram, but to win an effect, regardless of the route to it. 

" He was commonplace in his talk, and Chesterfield would 
have had no patience with him. His dignity of character 
lay in his uprightness rather than in his formal manner. 
Members of his government often reviewed him plainly in 
his presence ; yet he divined the true course, while they 
only argued it out. 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 373 

" His good feeling was not only personal, but national. 
He liad no prejudice against any race or potentate ; and 
his democracy was of a practical rather than of a demon- 
strative nature. He was not Marat, but Moreau ; not 
Paine and JeiFerson, but Franklin. 

"His domestic life was like a parlor at night-time, lit by 
the equal grate of his genial and uniform kindness. Young 
Thaddy played with him upon the carpet: Robert came 
home from the war, and talked to his father as to a school- 
mate. He was to Mrs. Lincoln as chivalrous on the last 
day of his life as when he courted her. I have somewhere 
seen a picture of Henry IV. of France riding his babies on 
his back : that was the President. 

" So dwelt the citizen who is gone, — a model in charac- 
ter, if not in ceremony, for good men to come who will take 
his place in this same White House, and find their genera- 
tion comparing them to the man thought worthy of assas- 
sination. I am glad to sit here in his chair, where he has 
bent so often, in the atmosphere of the household he purified, 
in the sight of the green grass and the blue river he hal- 
lowed by gazing upon, in the very centre of the nation he 
preserved for the people, and close the list of bloody deeds, 
of desperate flights, of swift expiations, of renowned obse- 
quies, which I have written, by inditing at his table the 
goodness of his life and the eternity of his memory." 

The following graphic picture, from the inimitable pen of 
" Carleton," shows how the freedmen regard their great 
deliverer : — 

"I was standing upon the bank of the river, viewing the 



374 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

scene of desolation, when a boat, pulled by twelve sailors, 
came up stream. It contained President Lincoln and his 
son. Admiral Porter, Capt. Penrose of the army, Capt. A. 
H. Adams of the navy, Lieut. W. W. Clemens of the sig- 
nal corps. Somehow the negroes on the bank of the river 
ascertained that the tall man wearing a black hat was Pres- 
ident Lincoln. There was a sudden shout. An officer, who 
had just picked up fifty negroes to do work on the dock, 
found himself alone. They left work, and crowded round 
the President. As he approached, I said to a colored wo- 
man, — 

" 'There is the man who made you free/ 

'"What, massa?' 

" ' That is President Lincoln.* 

'"Dat President Linkum?' 

"'Yes.' 

" She gazed at him a moment, clapped her hands, and 
jumped straight up and down, shouting ' Glory, glory, 
glory ! ' till her voice was lost in the universal cheer. 

" There was no carriage near ; so the President, leading 
his son, walked three-quarters of a mile up to Gen. Weitzel's 
headquarters, — Jeff. Davis's mansion. What a spectacle it 
was ! Such a hurly-burly, such wild, indescribable, ecstatic 
joy, I never witnessed. A colored man acted as guide. 
Six sailors, wearing their round blue caps and short-jack- 
ets and bagging pants, with navy carabines, were tlie ad- 
vance guard : then came the President and Admiral Porter, 
flanked by the officers accompanying him, and the correspon- 
dent of ' The Journal ; ' then six more sailors with carabines. 



THE MARTYR OF MARTYRS. 875 

— twenty of us all told, — amid a surging mass of men, 
women, and children, black, white and yellow, running, 
shouting, dancing, swinging their caps, bonnets, and hand- 
kerchiefs. The soldiers saw him, and swelled the crowd, 
cheering in wild enthusiasm. All could see him, he was 
so tall, so conspicuous. 

" No wonder that President Lincoln, who has a child's 
heart, felt his soul stirred ; that the tears almost came to his 
eyes as he heard the thanksgivings to God and Jesus, and the 
blessings uttered for him from thankful hearts. They were 
true, earnest, and heartfelt expressions of gratitude to God. 
There are thousands of men in Richmond to-night who 
would lay down their lives for President Lincoln, — their 
great deliverer, their best friend on earth. He came among 
them unheralded, without pomp or parade. He walked 
through the streets as if he were only a private citizen, and 
not the head of a mighty nation. He came not as a con- 
queror, not with bitterness in his heart, but Avitli kindness. 
He came as a friend, to alleviate sorrow and suffering, to 
rebuild what has been destroyed." 

The correspondent of a Chicago paper, who accompanied 
Gen. Grant on his visit to the grave of Mr. Lincoln, thus 
describes the burial-place of the lamented President : — 

"We went this morning (Sept. 13, 1865) to Oak Ridge ; 
and some day we hope to give a detailed account of 
that wild burial-ground. It is about two miles from the 
city, and consists of a tract of land of about eighty-eight 
acres, which is in future to be considered as the Springfield 
burial-ground proper. The remains are still unburied, and 



376 FIELD, GUNBOAT, HOSPITAL, AND PRISON. 

lie in the reception-house, just as they came from Washing- 
ton, watered by the tears of the nation. A guard-tent is 
pitched opposite to this house of the dead, on a rising knoll 
surrounded by trees. Three sentries guard the sacred re- 
mains night and day ; and the stone doors are kept open, so 
that the air may circulate fi-eely through the place. An 
iron gate protects the remains from a too close intrusion ; 
although one can see the two coffins, — those of the father, 
and of the little son who was carried here from Washington 
with him to their final resting-place." 

With the mention of the place where our country's martyr 
of martyrs rests, this volume closes. Its pages contain a 
glorious record of noble deeds ; and no loyal heart can 
ponder the endurance, valor, patriotism, and Christian 
excellence, of the soldiers of the Cross and the Union, 
without feeling a commendable pride, and, at the same 
time, a grateful sense of obligation to the patriots of our 
army and navy ; gratitude also to God for so inspiring their 
hearts, that, when the nation's life was threatened, they 
were willing even to die in its defence. 

May the lessons of the past admonish our nation that 
righteousness alone exalteth ! and may the peace now 
secured be perpetual, because based on the immutable 
principles of justice and humanity ! 



INDEX. 



A. 
A Boy-hero 156 

A Brave Standard-bearer C5 

Admiral Dupont 152 

Admiral Farragut 124 

Admiral Foote 150, 151 

Alabama 108 

A Naval Victory 121 

Andersonville 312 

Andersonville Cemetery 321 

A Patriotic Family 75 

Atrocities of the Rebellion .... 323 
Attack on Sumter 135 

J3. 

Ball's Bluff 50 

Battle before Richmond 177 

Before Vicksburg 280 

Brownell the Avenger 338 

C. 

Capt. Porter 114 

Capt. Richard Derby 172 

Capture of Beaufort 135 

" ( !arleton's " Letter from Rich- 
mond 232 

Charles Homans • • . • 3(3 

Charles Warren 80 



Chattanooga 283 

Christian-Commission Incidents . 340 

"Cincinnati" 115 

Col. Canlield 328 

Col. Munroe 50 

Col. Hendricks 278 

Commodore Foote praying .... 332 
Count Schwabe's Benevolence . . 299 

D. 

Dahlgren's Ride into Fredericks- 
burg 197 

Dahlgren's Defence 345 

Dahlgien'.s Funeral 354 

Daylight and a Truce 128 

Dead, — en Bivouac 189 

Death of a Hero 74 

Death of Col. Balcer 340 

Deathof Gen. Mitchell 342 

Death of .Gen. Lyon 342 

Death of Chaplain Fuller 343 

Death of Major Camp 343 

Death of Sneider 343 

Death of Trask 343 

Death of a Nephew of Goldsmith . 344 

Death ofJohnB. Marsh 345 

Destruction of the "Nashville" . . 118 

Dorothea L. Dix 286 

877 



878 



INDEX. 



Eig:lith Massachusetts Regiment . 29 

Eleventh Illinois • ... 250 

Elizabeth Comstock 2% 

Ellsworth 337 

Emotions during Battle Gl 

Falmouth 340 

Father and Son on the Battle-field . 74 
Filteenth Massachusetts Regiment 219 
Fifty-fourth Virginia Regiment . . 253 

Florence Nightingale 285 

Fort Donelson 245 

Fort hteadman 229 

Fort Sumter 14 

Fort Wagner 147 

Fredericksburg 202, 20G 

O. 

Gen. Fremont 206 

Gen. James S. Rice 82 

Gettysburg Battle 210 

God's Flag 49 

Gough's Testimony 80 

H. 

Hero of Gettysburg 220 

Heroes of Ball's Bluff 104 

Heroic Massachusetts Soldier ... 107 

Hervey Dix 58 

Hospital Sketches 286 

How Gen. Lee went into the War . 18 

I. 

Impromptu, by " Mabelle" . . . .294 

Incidents : Antietam 175 

Indiana Hero-boy 76 

Indiana Soldier 78 



In the Wilderness 198 

Iowa : Western Patriotism .... 68 

J. 

John B. Marsh 357 

John Bright 367 

"Kearsarge" 108 

L. 

Last Interview of Two Heroes . . . 327 

Last Words of Ladd 337 

Letter from J. G. Smith, Jun. ... 166 
Letter from Lieut. C P. Abbott . . 1C9 
Letter from Sharpsburg, — "Carle- 
ton" 170 

Letter from Col. Dahlgren 352 

Letter from Admiral Dahlgren . . 346 

Libby Prison 304 

Library for Soldiers 295 

Lieut. G. P. Stevens 70 

Lieut. J. William Grout 72 

Lieut. Hanaford's Escape 316 

Little Tad 365 

m:. 

Mabelle's Fair 295 

Margaret Fuller Ossoli 2S5 

Massachusetts Bravery 55 

Massachusetts Troops 191 

Massachusetts Thirty- fourth . . . .200 

Mrs. Fremont 2G5 • 

3Irs. Hayden's Poem on Vicksburg 279 

isr. 

Navy Letters 330 

New-York Seventh 29 

Nineteenth Mass. Regiment ... ISO 



INDEX. 



379 



One Leg more for his Country . . 66 
Only a Private 8i 

Picket Guard 188 

Pittsburg Landing 270 

Prairie Ridge 273 

President Lincoln at Antietam . . 362 
President Lincoln's Letter .... 364 
President Lincoln at Trenton . . . 369 
President Lincoln's Playfulness . . 371 
President Lincoln with his Children 373 
President Lincoln in Richmond . . 374 
President Lincoln's Grave ..... 377 



Secretary Seward 364 

Secretary Stanton's Letter .... 355 

Sergeant Kernan 15 

Sergeant Frye 69 

•' Shenandoah " 155 

Sheridan at Five Forks ...... 223 

Sheridan's Ride 226 

Shooting Prisoners 307 

Sixth Massachusetts Regiment . . 46 

Soldiers' Prayer-meeting 334 

Somebody's Darling 284 

South-Carolina Victories 132 

Starved to Death 320 



Tale of 1861 26 

The Call to Arms 17 

Massachusetts Soldier's Wife . 22 

Gloucester Mother 46 



The Marblehead "Woman 45 

Patriotic Girl 47 

Brave at Home 51 

First American Flag in England 49 

Enlistment 52 

"Monitor" 87 

"Monitor "and "Merrimack" 91 

" Cumberland " 93 

" Congress " 95 

"Whitehall" 100 

"Cumberland" Heroes. . . . 104 

Sailor 107 

"Clifton" to the Rescue ... 127 
Blowing-up of the " Westfield" 130 

Hancock Farmer 202 

Blind Soldier 326 

Vermont Soldier 340 

President's Office 305 

Third Oliio 255 

Thomas Starr King 47 

Thomas F. Power 102 

Tlirough Baltimore 24 

Tramp, tramp, tramp 301 

Trumpet-song 209 

XJ. 

Ulric Dahlgren 345 

Unalloyed Patriotism 66 

"Wabash" 135 

" Weehawken " 140 

Z. 

Zagonyi 266 



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THE ANNUAL CYCLOPEDIA 



AND 

REGISTER OF IMPORTANT EVENTS, 
FOR THE YEARS 1861, 1862, 1863, AND 1864, 

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YEAR, 1863. 

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YEAR 1863. 

The principles adopted in the previous years have taken eifect; and many 
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